What Everyone Didn't Know
by zyphoracutie
Summary: Updated 6/12/12 - AU, Harry is in his sixth year atHogwarts when he finds out some long kept secrets about him and his family. A father and a sibling return from out of nowhere to reveal the truths about his past and his life. OoTP Compliant! Slash SSJP FWHP GWOC GWDM RWSB
1. That Fateful Night

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters.

This should be for a challenge from padfoot's shadow. Go to the profile to see the details of the challenge if you are interested.

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James walked up to the wreckage that was his home in Godric Hallow. He slowly made his way into the burnt and charred house. Lying on the floor was a man that he knew from work, who ironically had the same name as him. Briefly James wondered what the man was doing here, but it was only a passing thought as he made his way up stairs to his children's room. The door wasn't even attached anymore, but scattered into pieces on the floor. He saw Lilly, fallen on the floor in front of the cribs. He reached the first crib with fear in his heart.

There, laying in the crib was his son, Harry. He was completely still. James reached out a shaky hand and placed it on the infants chest, but he couldn't feel any movements. A tear slowly slid down his cheek as he realized his sons fate. As he was pulling his hand away, he heard a slight whimper. James froze, praying he heard what he thought he heard. When the second whimper came, James took quick steps the next crib to see his daughter Alex, Harry younger twin sister, with her eyes wide open. Eyes that had always reminded him of his love. Eyes that were now red and puffy from crying and had a puddle of water on the rim of her eyes as if she was about to cry again.

It was then that his eyes traveled lower, just below her right collar bone and slightly above her chest he saw a lightning bolt scar, red and bleeding. A scar that had not been there when James had left the house earlier that night. And he knew where it had come from and why it was there.

James was well aware of the prophecy, which was why he and Lilly had gone into hiding. They had had Sirius as their secret keeper, much to the chagrin of Lilly, who was not fond of his best friend to say the least. Which was probably one of the reasons why she had convinced both him and Sirius to make Peter the Secret Keeper. Lilly had argued that no one would possibly go after him because no one would ever think that they would pick him. Which was true, making Peter their Secret Keeper had never crossed James' mind. Which obviously had been a good thing. James didn't have to be a genius to put together the fact that his house was attacked three days after they switched Secret Keepers.

But the prophecy had said that Voldemort would mark one as his own and if that scar wasn't a mark, James didn't know what was. But the only thought going through James' mind was that he didn't want this. He didn't want his one year old daughter to be marked as the chosen one. He didn't want to lose his son. He didn't want to lose the love of his life. But unfortunately all three were happening to him. He couldn't do anything about the ones that he had lost, but he could do something about his daughters future.

Quickly, he grabbed a blanket that managed to survive the blast and wrapped it around his daughter, picking her up and setting her against his chest. He then laid a piece of wood off the ground and set it in the crib. He performed a strong transfiguration spell, turning the piece of wood into a still form of his daughter. James was extremely good at transfiguration and knew that no one would presume that this wasn't his real daughter. Walking over to Harry's crib, he rested his hand on his chest again, hoping he had been wrong the first time, but Harry's little body still didn't make any movement.

Hesitating slightly, James did something that he never thought he would do and hoped he would never do again. He tapped into dark magic. Running his finger along the scar on his daughters chest, he said the incantation and the scar glowed green and his finger throbbed from the magic. Then he reached over and placed his finger on Harry's forehead, retracing the shape of the scar from his sister while saying the next part of the incantation. When he pulled his finger away and exact replica of his sisters scar was now glowing green and his forehead. Saying the last of the incantation, the green glow from the two scars intensified to an almost blinding state and then disappeared. The scar remained on his daughter, but now there was an exact replica of it on his sons forehead, just as read and bloody as the original. When found their would be no questioning the fact that the marked one had died.

"I am so sorry Harry. I wish I could take you and give you a proper burial, but I have to do what's best for your sister. She can't grow up. Sirius will make sure your arrangements are proper. I love you son. I always will." said James, tears flowing freely down his face. Alex, sensing something was not right, wiped the tears from her daddy's cheek and then gave him a small kiss where the tears had been. James gave her a loving smile at the gesture.

"Say goodbye to your brother Alex. He is going where he will be loved." he said, knowing that his love would be with him.

"Bye 'arry. Luv you." said Ales, blowing him a kiss.

"Come on darling." said James, taking Alex to the study. Opening one of his filing cabinets, he said a charm and the back opened into small compartment. Grabbing his money bad and a photo album, he shut the drawer and walked down stairs. Quickly he transfigured the man on the floor to look like him just as he had done with the wood in the children's room.

He took one more glance around his house. He had enough money shrunk in the money bag to live comfortable for the remainder of their lives. No one would come looking for them, because they would think they were dead. He was done with the wizarding world. It had made his life miserable. He had taken the love of his life away from him, along with his first born son, and marked his daughter for a ridiculous prophecy. Now Alex was all he had to live for and he was going to make sure she grew up far from the wizarding world and this damn prophecy. Magic will always be apart of her, apart of him as well, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a normal life without anything remotely related to this place. As for as he is concerned it no longer existed. Unable to stop himself, James walked back upstairs for one last look at his son.

"Goodbye Harry." he said then apparated away with Alex with one loud pop!

What James didn't see was the jerk that the baby had made at the sudden loud pop. What James didn't hear was the strangled breath that baby Harry drew on, or the other that quickly followed. What James didn't know was that his was very much alive. It was a crying baby Harry that Sirius and an alive baby Harry that he gave to Hagrid to be delivered to the Dursleys. What everyone didn't know was the true events that wrongly marked Harry Potter as the Boy Who Lived.

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Please read and review. I very much like to hear everyones opinions.


	2. The Dursleys

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter characters

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Harry Potter sat in his room at the Dursley's, deep in thought. Surprisingly, this wasn't that uncommon, for Harry had done a lot of thinking since the end of his fifth year at Hogwarts. He knew that after the incident at the Department of Mysteries things had to change. It was something he was planning on talking seriously about with Ron and Hermione; and if the incident at the Department of Mysteries was anything to go by, Ginny would be included also.

He has started to put his plan into action at the beginning of summer by rereading as many of his school books as possible, which he had actually accomplished quite early. He even managed to finsh his summer homework in the month since he had been at the Dursley's. But studying wasn't the only thing he had decided to take seriously. One of the things that he distinctively recalled from the Department of Mysteries was how quickly he tired out. Even with quid ditch, he wasn't as fit as he should be, so he made sure to do as much physical labor as he could while at the Dursley's. This wasn't so hard, considering the amount of chores he had, but he made sure to try to make them into an exercise of some sort. He would also go up and down the stairs repeatedly, as light footed as possible of course, to build up his stamina.

And so, the Harry Potter that was sitting, waiting for the Weasley's to pick him up was a very fit Harry Potter. A Harry Potter with a new attitude an how he was going to live his life and he hoped his friends would be there for him.

Suddenly he heard a knock and the door and ran downstairs to answer it. He opened the door and was very surprised to see Fred and George Weasley on the other side instead of an adult from the order.

"Harry! How ya doin' man?" asked Fred jovially.

"Fine." said Harry, the shock finally leaving him as he let the twins into the house. "Come on in."

"Great!" said George, following his brother inside. The three boys walked to the front room, where the Dursley's were sitting watching T.V.

"I'm going to get my stuff and then I will be gone till next summer." Harry told them simply. The Dursley's looked his way at his comment and were surprised because if it hadn't been for the incident two years ago, Dudley shook at the thought of that tail, they would of thought that these were just two regular boys instead of the freaks Harry hung around with.

"Fine, but don't leave any of that freaky stuff behind in this house, got it boy." stated Vernon loudly.

"Yes, sir." said Harry before turning to the stair case. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the twins glance and each other and then mock saluted his uncle.

"Sir, yes sir." they said, before turning to Harry and marching their was to catch up with him. It wasn't till Harry made it to his room that he allowed himself to laugh at their antics.

"You guys never change." he said still grinning.

"Of course, why would we want to?" asked Fred.

"Good point Fred." replied Harry going to grab his trunk and Hedwig cage.

"Hey, I'm George." said the twin, feigning hurt as he walked over to Harry and shrunk his trunk.

"No your not, you're Fred." said Harry simply, taking the shrunken trunk from Fred's outstretched hand and putting it in his pocket.

"Hey," butted in the real George. "I think I know who I am. I am Fred." he stated, grabbing Hedwig's cage and shrinking that also.

"No, your George and you," said Harry pointing to Fred, " are Fred." He took Hedwig's cage from George and put it in his other pocket.

"How could you know which one is the real us, huh? Mum can't even do it most of the time." asked Fred, let down that their trick hadn't worked and Harry was right as to which twin was who.

"Your freckles." said Harry simply, looking at the two boys.

"Our freckles?" asked George.

"Yeah, they're different." stated Harry, shrugging simply.

"Ah Harry, it means so much to us…" started George

"That you would take so much time out of your busy schedule…" interjected Fred.

"To study our beautiful faces." finished George.

"I mean we know how gorgeous we are, just didn't know we caught your fancy." said Fred with a teasing smile.

"But I have to say sorry man, but I don't swing that way. But if you were a girl, there would totally be a chance." said George with a grin.

"Oh rubbish you two." said Harry, blushing slightly. "You just learn to notice things about the people you care about."

"Awww." said Fred, wiping a fake tear off his face.

"Ha, ha." said Harry, ginning slightly. "So how are you two busting me from this place this time."

"Well the one condition they had with us picking you up was that we couldn't do anything dramatic." said Fred, putting the last word in air quotes.

"So, my dear brother from another mother." started George. Both Harry and Fred rolled their eyes and shared a smile at the expression, but George continued as if he didn't see any of it. "It is either going by Floo." he said holding up a jar of what Harry assumed was Floo powder. Harry automatically made a face at this, he despised Flooing.

"Or it is side long apparation," added Fred

"Side long apparation it is." said Harry immediately.

"Great. Harry come on over here." instructed Fred. Harry walked over to Fred and Fred immediately slung his arm over his shoulder, pulling Harry close to him. Harry blushed slightly at the contact, but relaxed in his hold. Fred saluted his brother similar to what they had done to the Vernon. "See you at the burrow, brother dear." He said before apparating with a pop.

George couldn't help but shake his head. He had seen both the blush Harry hat at the contact with Fred and the one from earlier. If he didn't know any better, Fred might actually have a chance. All this flew through Georges head within a couple seconds before he cleared his mind and apparated to the burrow also.

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Please Review!!! :)O


	3. Authors Note

Authors Note:

Sorry it is taking me so long to update, but I tend to not write the story in the actual order it is supposed to be in, so it takes me longer to post.

I would like you all to take my poll, because I need for a storyline I have to finish. Do you think Draco should be with Ron or Ginny?

As for my reviewers, I appreciate them all even if it is only two. As for the question that panther73110 asked, no Harry is not the real boy who lived, but his sister is the girl who lived. I will be keeping events the same as the book though and will explain in later chapters about Harry's own connection with Voldemort.

Thanks so much, please keep reading.


	4. Arriving at the Burrow

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS!!!

SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE!!!

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Harry felt himself get pulled as Fred apparated, his arm still wrapped around Harry's shoulder. Instantly he felt his feet hit the ground of what he assumed to be the burrow, but the landing threw him slightly off balance and instinctively he wrapped his arm around Fred's waist to be sure not to fall. He would never admit to himself how much he liked the position they were in at that moment, with Fred's arm wrapped around his shoulders and his arm around his waist. So wrapped up in his thoughts, Harry didn't see the big that had come across Fred's face when Harry had grabbed his waist.

A couple second later George popped up next to the two and instantly noticed that they still had a hold of each other. It wasn't until they heard Ron make his way to the front room that they removed their arms from each other. Harry again refused to admit they he missed the closeness.

"Hey mate, its about time you got here." said Ron, giving him a brotherly slap on the back.

"Told you we would deliver him safe and sound." said George.

"Now if you would excuse us." said Fred, wiping imaginary dust off his shirt. "We have some business to attend to."

"Business?" questioned Harry as the twins started to walk out of the living room. "More inventing?"

"Nah, right now it is all about expansion." said George.

"Expansion?" asked Harry.

"Yup. You see my darling Harry, George and I are making Weasley Wizarding Wheezes a franchise. We are looking to open shops up in Germany and France. We want to open them up in the towns closest to the school there, because we all know who our best customers are." informed George.

"And of course, Harry, you get part of the earning that we receive from this endeavor since you did get us started." said George.

"I don't need any of it. You guys deserve it." said Harry with a small smile.

"Sure." said George. "Well we better get going. Lots to do." With that, George pulled Fred with him out of the front room.

"Anyways, lets go up to the room. Mum has already got your bed set up in my room. Hermione wont be here for another two weeks, but by then we are going to be at order headquarters." Harry saw Ron give him a side glance at the mention of Grimmauld Place. Harry had thought he would be upset at the reminder of his godfather, but he had decided during the beginning of the summer that Sirius wouldn't want him to be upset when he thought of him. As a matter of fact, Harry believed Sirius would be seriously offended at it. So Harry decided to do what he knew Sirius would want him to do. Get even. But Harry knew that he couldn't just rush off, barrels loaded. He would plan his revenge for Sirius right, all the while enjoying the memories that he had been able to have with him.

"Okay." agreed Harry as they walked into Ron's room. Right away, Harry noticed that Ron's room wasn't as orange as it used to be. "Hey, what happened to all your posters?"

"Oh, I don't know. I just felt like taking some down." explained Ron with a shrug of his shoulders. "So mate, where is your stuff." "Um," said Harry as he patted his pockets. Finally he felt them and pulled them out. "Crap, they need to un shrunk." said Harry, holding out the miniature trunk and cage.

"Alright, lets go get Fred and George to do it." said Ron, walking out of his room with Harry following. When they reached the twins door, they couldn't hear anything inside.

"Either they have a silencing charm up or they are extremely quiet." stated Harry, unsettled by the quietness.

"Maybe we shouldn't bother them?" said Ron, afraid of what the twins must be up to. "How about we ask mum to do it instead."

"That'll work. I actually need to speak with Ginny and you upstairs. She is with your mum, right?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, she is helping with cooking." informed Ron. "What do you need to talk about." "Just stuff and I would prefer not having to repeat it a dozen times. I will have to tell Hermione when she arrives at the headquarters though." explained Harry.

"Alright." said Ron slowly, curious about what he wanted to talk to his sister and him about, but dropping it none the less. When they reached the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was over the stove, while Ginny was setting the table.

"Hey mum, can you un shrink Harry's trunk and cage. Fred and George forgot to do it before they locked themselves in their room." asked Ron, while Harry looked at Ginny and nodded his head towards the stairs.

"Sure things, dear." said Mrs. Weasley as she wiped her hands on her apron. Harry set his trunk and Hedwig's cage on the floor and she pointed her wand at them and said the spell, bringing them to their original size. "There you go dear."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley." said Harry.

"Hey mum, can I go hang out with Harry and Ron? The table is all set." asked Ginny.

"Sure dear, if it is okay with your brother." replied Mrs. Weasley.

"Uh," said Ron groaning, knowing his mum would think if suspicious if he didn't at least put up a little protest to his sisters presence. "Alright." he finished turning towards the stairway with Harry following. Ginny broke into a grin.

"Thanks mum." she said, running to catch up to the boys. She caught up to them on the stairway and they all stayed quiet until they reached Ron's room again.

"Thank goodness you took down some of those posters." stated Ginny, flopping down on his bed.

"Do you wanna stay in here?" asked Ron in irritation. Not wanting to be kicked out, Ginny made a motion to zip her mouth shut. "Mate, you wanna play some chess while we talk. Nobody will play with me here."

"Sure." said Harry feeling sorry for Ron. I guess being to good at something has its downfalls, everyone hated losing to Ron.

"You know, I don't understand how you can be so good at chess but so bad at potions." stated Ginny, looking at her brother.

"How dare you compare chess to potions! What in the world does one have to do with the other?" asked Ron in a shocked voice.

"They are actually a lot similar than some people realize. Think about it, every move you make on the chess board, effects the outcome of the game. Each piece can have a negative or a positive effect. Just like ingredients have on a potion. In chess you have to form a strategy to get a check mate. In potions, your check mate is the actual completion. If you put in the wrong ingredient, or move the wrong piece, game over. The ingredients are just like the pieces, there are just a whole lot more. You have to learn the effect of the ingredients just like you study how one pieces move effects the other players move."

"That's crazy." said Harry, but Ron was actually silent as he thought about what his sister had said. When Ron plays chess, he thinks about five moves ahead. He knew that the first or second move is just as important as your last move. You had to play the pieces at certain moments or else your whole strategy would be thrown off. Ron figured that was true with potions also, if you didn't follow exactly what needed to be done from beginning to end it wouldn't turn out like you want it.

"Maybe." said Ron slowly, not liking the thought that he was seriously intrigued by his sisters theory.

"Hey, it could be a challenge for you mate, since you beat everyone at chess now." stated Harry.

"I'll think about it later." said Ron finally, not wanting to think about it at the moment. "What did you want to talk to us about."

"Well, I realized that Hermione is right." started Harry.

"When isn't she right?" said Ginny smartly. Ron made a 'humph' noise in agreement.

"Well, I am talking about when she says that I have a hero complex, and she is right. Even after knowing what I now know about that night, I don't think I would have done anything different. I now know that I can't just stand by and watch when people need help. At the beginning of the summer I thought about it and realized my luck is going to run out someday. Who knows when I will be in a confrontation and I can't suddenly remember some vague thing from my classes. I need to be prepared. I need to know that when I go to help somebody that I am not just putting them in more danger by not being prepared. Because that is what really was the reason the trip to the Department of Ministries went so badly. Not because we went, but because we had no plan of action for when we got there."

"That's a good point. I wasn't fond of wondering around aimlessly." commented Ginny.

"So after I got back to the Dursley's I started studying all my old school books, doing all my summer homework. I also started an exercise program so that I am not completed exhausted five minutes into a duel. I plan on being prepared and knowledgeable so that the next time my hero conflict personality kicks in I know exactly what I am doing." explained Harry.

"I get what your saying mate, but why was it so important that you talk to Ginny and me?" asked Ron.

"Because I know that you two, along with Hermione, will want to be there to back me up. To be truthful, I appreciate the support because I don't know if I can last by myself. But I will only allow you guys to follow me if you do the same as me. I don't want to lead you to your death, and knowing that you are training as much as possible gives me comfort that I wont get you killed. So can you guys do that for me?" asked Harry, looking at Ron and then Ginny.

"Of course Harry. It makes complete sense to me. I will even borrow some of your text books from your year to study if you'd like." said Ginny, and Harry nodded.

"Man, more studying." groaned Ron.

"So, I take that as a yes." said Harry, grinning slightly.

"Well, duh. You don't honestly think that I would stay behind. I got your back, don't ever doubt that." said Ron simply before moving a piece on the board. "Check Mater."

"Okay, how the heck did you do that?" asked Harry, looking at the board. They had barely made five moves each in the game, and Harry knew he wasn't that bad at this game. "Alright, you need to look into that potion theory of your sisters. This is so easy for you its ridiculous." Ron's face broke out into a huge grin. It was nice hearing that he was good at something.

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PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS JUST ASK AND I WILL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T GIVE ANYTHING AWAY.


	5. What a Best Friend Knows

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

AUTHORS NOTE: I REPOSTED THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE, IN MY HURRY TO FINISHED IT, I FOUND QUITE A FEW GRAMMATICAL ERRORS THAT I FIXED. EJOY.

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t was a week after Harry arrived at the Weasley's, and Mrs. Weasley was sitting at the table in her kitchen, reflecting on the odd behavior of her children. First off, since Harry's arrival, Mrs. Weasley has yet had to go and wake Ginny, Ron or Harry himself up. They have been awake before even she got up and seemed to have been awake for awhile. One day she decided to see what they were up to and found them exercising in the back yard at 5 o'clock in the morning. Then, they started volunteering to do chores, especially de-gnoming the back yard. The only thing that Mrs. Weasley could figure was that they thought it was another form of exercise for them, like their morning routine.

In the evening, she could usually find Ginny, Ron and Harry in the living room, studying. Yes, even she couldn't believe that she had witnessed it. Especially Ron, the thought that he was willingly studying every night, when she was sure he had already finished his summer homework, was just baffling.

Speaking of her youngest boy, she had also noticed that other than in the evenings, during their chores and during their exercises, he didn't seem to stay around Harry constantly. Instead, Ron seemed to go off by himself and when that occurred she noticed that he would always hide the book he was reading from her. She would have been concerned, but the face he usually had on was one he wore when he was in an intense game of chess, so she figured he wasn't doing anything he wasn't supposed to do. He was just doing something he didn't want others to know about.

Harry didn't seem to be upset by Ron's lack of attention so Mrs. Weasley figured everything was okay with the boys. Mostly, she saw Harry hanging out with Ginny and, surprisingly, the twins. George and Fred usually would close themselves off in their room the whole time they were there, but she saw them more and more in the backyard, hanging out with Harry and Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley wasn't sure what was going on with her children, even Harry which she considered one of her own. But she wasn't about to make them stop, because she doesn't believe she had ever seen them this content with what was going on around them.

It was getting late in the afternoon when Harry went to go look for Ron. Harry had noticed Ron closing himself off, but figured Ron had a good reason for it. Actually, Harry had a good feeling that it had something to do with Ginny's theory on Ron learning potions. Which would make sense, because Harry also knew that Ron would rather be caught dead then caught reading things about potions. Finally, Harry found Ron sitting behind a tree behind the Weasley's shed. It wasn't till Harry was right next to him that Ron had noticed his approach and tried to hide the book. But Harry was already able to read the title that said _Potion Ingredients: The Cause of Effects._ He couldn't help but let out a small smile while sitting down next to his best, with Ron trying to stuff the book behind his back.

"Don't worry mate. I won't let anyone know." stated Harry which caused Ron to look at him in shock.

"Bloody hell, you saw the book." said Ron grumbling, looking at the ground.

"Yeah, I did. But I also had a feeling that was what you were doing anyways." confessed Harry.

"How?" asked Ron

"Come on, I am your best friend. I know your actions like the back of my hand." explained Harry.

"Oh." was all Ron said, picking at the blades of grass on the ground. They sat in quiet for awhile before Harry asked the question that he was really curious about.

"So was she right? Does it make sense?" Ron looked at Harry, his brow crinkled in thought.

"Pretty much. I never thought I would remember anything about potions, but by putting them in that perspective I am amazed at the things I am recalling every time I read the name of an ingredient. When I see an ingredient name I think of what is its offensive effect is and its defensive effect. I even start to think about what ingredients could go with it and I wasn't even thinking of a specific potion." said Ron, not even sure if he was explaining his thoughts right. Harry smiled, because Ron usually only sounded this smart with Quidditch and chess.

"Have you tried to actually make one yet?" asked Harry.

"No not yet. I don't even know what potion I should start with." said Ron in exasperation.

"Ask Ginny. She is the one who got you thinking about it. She should have an idea of where to start when it is time for actually making the potion after studying everything else." suggested Harry.

"Yeah, that's true. This is all her fault." said Ron accusingly, though Harry knew Ron had no ill feelings towards his sister. "You know you two have been spending a lot of time together." stated Ron.

"Yeah, I know." answered Harry.

"You better be careful then or mum will think you two are an item." said Ron, looking at Harry.

"Man, I didn't think about that." said Harry groaning.

"Just be careful. It would be one hell of a way to come out of the closet to mum just to convince her that you and gin aren't an item." said Ron, looking back at the tree line that was their view in their current sitting position.

"Tell me about…wait!" said Harry, whipping his head around to look at Ron. "Out of the closet?"

"Hey, you aren't the only one that knows their best friend like the back of their hand." replied Ron with a cheeky grin. Harry shared the grin with Ron.

"So, you are okay with it? It doesn't make things weird with us?" asked Harry, because that was the main reason that he hadn't told Ron about it before. Being raised by muggles had given Harry the fear that his friends would reject him because of his sexual preference.

"Of course I am okay with. Same sex relationships are not frowned upon in wizarding society as much as they are with the muggles. Besides, it would only make things weird between us if you had a thing for me. That would be like having a thing for Fred and George and that is just wrong." stated Ron. Harry couldn't help but agree.

"Yeah, that's true. Well, maybe not Fred, but definitely George and you. Not an image I want in my head." stated Harry without thinking about his words. When he looked at Ron to laugh at his comment, he saw that Ron had a quizzical look on his face, like he was trying to comprehend something. Suddenly Harry's word repeated themselves in his head and Harry realized his mistake just as he saw the light bulb go off in Ron's eyes.

"You have a thing for Fred!" said Ron, pointing a finger at Harry accusingly although there was a broad grin on his face.

"I didn't say that!" protested Harry, hoping to cover his tracks.

"No, you just said that it wouldn't be wrong to have a thing for Fred, which tells me you do you have a thing for him!" stated Ron logically, slightly louder than before.

"Shush!" snapped Harry, putting his hand over Ron's mouth before glancing around to make sure no one was around. "Fine, I have a slight, _slight_, thing for your brother." Ron couldn't help but chuckle at Harry's omission to the truth.

"Ah, this is priceless." said Ron, letting out a sigh. "You know though, if anyone else was gay in this family, it probably would be Fred." said Ron off handedly.

"Really?" asked Harry curiously, before he caught on to Ron's words. "Wait, who else is gay in your family?"

"I guess there are still something's you don't know about you best friend." said Ron with a grin before standing up to walk away. Harry stared at Ron's retreating figure in shock before he finally jumped up.

"Hey man you can't just tell me that and then walk off." yelled Harry, running to catch up to his best mate, who just threw him a mischievous smile over his shoulder but didn't slow down for him. Harry didn't mind much because he knew he and Ron would be able to talk about it later.

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PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. SIRIUS WILL EVENTUALLY BE BROUGHT BACK FROM THE VIEL.

SINCE EVERYONE WANTED DRACO AND GINNY TOGETHER, WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS ON WHO SHOULD BE WITH RON??


	6. Arriving at Headquarters

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS!!

TO THOSE FOLLOWING THIS STORY, I DID REPOST THE LAST CHAPTER BECAUSE IT HAD SO MANY GRAMMATICAL ERRORS.

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t was during the next week at the Weasley's that Harry and Ginny realized just how talented Ron could be when he put his mind to it. After their little chat, Ron and Harry had went to Ginny with advice on which potion to start with. After finding out that Ron had never actually ever completed a potion correctly in all his years at Hogwarts, she told him he should start with the first potion they ever made in first year and work his way up through the years. She even had a list of all the potions she had made at Hogwarts. Apparently she would keep track of all the potions they made so that she knew what to study at the end of the year.

So Ron had gather all of his equipment and got to work. He would lock himself in Percy's old room and would come out for exercise, the evening study sessions and meal. Ginny and Harry started to get curious, because whenever they would ask, out of earshot of everyone else of course, Ron wouldn't tell them how the potion making was going.

Finally it was the night before they were to leave for Headquarters. After dinner, Ginny and Harry went to go to the living room to read a little bit when Ron stopped them.

"Hey guys, can I see you in Percy's room for a little bit." asked Ron, looking towards the ground, unsure if he really wanted to show them.

"Of course." said Ginny, not giving Harry time to answer. It was funny how in the last couple of weeks Ginny had completely come out of her shell. Harry had seen parts of her unique personality come out in the extreme situations they were in last year, but now it was there all the time. Harry realized he liked the person Ginny finally showed. She was self assertive, confident, and had a will power and stubbornness that matched all of her family put together.

Ron nodded and them led them to the room he was working in. Opening the door, he walking into it, but paused before making room for the other two to enter. Unsure why Ron was being so undecided about them seeing, Harry and Ginny walked into the room giving a glance to each other. When they finally looked around the room, they saw a table with countless vials of what they assumed to be potions.

"How many are there?" asked Harry in surprise.

"Well, I managed to do all of them up through fourth year. I think they are right anyways. I was wondering if you guys could double check for me. I marked the pages where it says how the potions would look when they are done." explained Ron nervously. Harry just continued to stare at all the apparently finished potions. He was astounded that it was his best friend that did all of this, regardless if they were actually correct. It wasn't that he thought Ron was dumb. He knew better than that, he just knew that something had to really catch Ron's attention for him to stay with it.

"They are all right Ron." said Ginny setting down the last sheet of paper. Ron let out a breath that no one knew he was holding.

"Mate, how did you do all of this?" asked Harry finally.

"Yeah Ron, this is unbelievable." added Ginny.

"I don't know really. I was really nervous when I first started, but eventually it just started to come naturally. Some of these I barely looked at the ingredients list, because my head had already figured out what ingredients I needed based on what I needed to do." explained Ron. Finally Harry walked to over to the table that held all of the finished vials. Looking at them, he noticed that there were some that looked the same.

"Are there more than one on some of these?" asked Harry.

"Yeah. Usually I would just take a vial of the potion and get rid of the rest, but for the ones that we could use, I put all of it in vial. I have pepper-up potions and sleeping draught. Stuff like that. I figured it might be a good idea to keep something like that on us, just in case something should happen and we couldn't get any medical help."

"That's a really good idea." said Ginny.

"Yeah, maybe we could get Fred or George to put a spell on the vial so that they can't break. Also, we should find someway to carry them so that people didn't know we had them." said Harry.

"I might have an idea for that actually. I just have to talk to Hermione about it first." said Ginny.

"When will she be here anyways? " asked Harry as Ron handed him a couple of vials of potions.

"Here are some pepper up potions and sleepless draughts." explained Ron as he handed each to him.

"Hermione will get to headquarters tomorrow afternoon." said Ginny to Harry as Ron handed her some potions as well.

"What are you going to do with the rest of the potions that you did?" asked Harry.

"I don't know. Probably going to get rid of it. I just wanted to keep it to make sure that it was right." said Ron with a shrug.

"Alright, we'll help. But then we have to pack." said Ginny.

"Okay." said the boys as they started gathering the vials, separating the healing potions they were going to carry with them.

It was about 3 o'clock in the morning when the Weasley's along with Harry went to headquarters so that no one would see the big group of people disappearing into a house that they couldn't see. It was Remus Lupin, Tonks and Mad Eye Moody that met them there. After brief hello's, Mrs. Weasley told her children to go put their things in their rooms. Remus, Tonks and Moody had assumed that the kids were going to crash the minute they found beds again, but were greatly surprised to find them return to the kitchen five minutes later.

"Umm…Moody…sir." said Harry with hesitation, not sure what title to use for him. Everyone he knew always just called him Madeye or just Moody. "Is the back yard under the fidelus charm also?"

"Harry, I thought you would be sleeping." said Remus in surprise.

"Why do you want to know if the charm extends to the backyard," asked Moody at the same time.

"We usually wake up this early Remus." explained Ginny. Remus gave them a doubtful look before looking at Mrs. Weasley, who nodded her head to confirm what they had told him.

"Oh okay."

"You still haven't answered my question, boy." said Moody gruffly.

"Oh, we just need a place to do our exercises'."

"Exercise?" asked Remus.

"Yeah, we all decided to get into shape. What good will it do if we have to run away from Death Eaters but can't get very far." said Ron, telling a part of the truth. He didn't want to tell them that they were actually training to be able to keep up in a fight with Death Eaters.

"Well…" started Moody, not believing them. "I do believe that the charm surrounds the whole property."

"Alright, thank you." said Harry, before he and the two youngest walked out of the kitchen. Both Remus and Moody looked at Mrs. Weasley who just shrugged her shoulders.

"Tea?" she said, nonchalantly. The aurors in the room accepted, still wondering about the children's odd behavior. Once Moody finished his tea, he excused himself and left the kitchen, Remus following behind him, knowing where Moody was going. Once they reached a window that looked into the back yard they stood in shock. Harry, Ron and Ginny were indeed exercising. They watched as they teenagers seemed to finish their routine and then it seemed like they started fighting each other. When Moody went to break up the fight, Remus stopped him with an hand on the his shoulder.

"They aren't fighting. They are practicing hand to hand combat." said Remus in surprise, not believing what he was seeing himself. Moody looked back at the teenagers and saw that he was right.

"What happened to those children?" asked Moody.

"Apparently, they were tired of being defenseless. They are doing the grown up thing and taking the precautions they need to to ensure their survival." said Remus in realization.

"Well if they did what they were told to do, then they wouldn't be in danger." "Alastor you and I both know that that will never happen." said Remus with a sigh.

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	7. HERMIONE'S ARRIVAL AND OWLS

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

HOPE YOU ENJOY

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It was right before lunch when Hermione arrived. Harry, Ron and Ginny had been in the library studying when they heard her at the door. Quickly, they jumped up and ran to meet her in the entrance hallway.

"Hermione!" said Ginny excitedly, running up and giving her friend a hug. I wasn't that Ginny didn't enjoy spending time with Harry and Ron, but she was looking forward to some girl companionship. "Hey Ginny." said Hermione in surprise. Ginny didn't usually greet her this enthusiastically. Hermione always figured Ginny had felt shy around her. She gave a look to the boys, as if say 'what id you do to her for her to want me here so bad.' It was crazy how the boys could reach so much from the look that Hermione gave them. Ginny stepped back so that Ron and Harry could give their own brotherly hugs to Hermione.

"Hey Hermione." they said at the same time, and then chuckled at each other. Hermione smiled, happy to be with her friends again. It was then that she felt the now familiar tickle in her nose and sneezed suddenly. She pulled a Kleenex out of her pocket to dab her nose.

"Sorry guys. I seemed to have caught a small bug. It has been bugging me the last couple of days." she said apologetically.

"No problem, we'll just get you some pepper-up potion. That should help it. Ron go get it for her. Harry, grab her bags. Come on Hermione." ordered Ginny, taking charge as she hooked her arm in Hermione's. Hermione looked at her friends in surprise, but the boys just rolled their eyes and did as they were told. As the two girls started walking up the stairs, with Harry following with Hermione's things, Hermione turned to Ginny.

"How on earth did you do that? I haven't been able to listen half as well as that and I have been trying for five years now!" exclaimed Hermione. Ginny opened the bedroom door and walked in and flopped down on the bed.

"I am just that good." Ginny said with a laugh.

"Please, we have just had enough of the Weasley temper coming out in her and we do what we must to avoid it." retorted Harry, setting down Hermione's things.

"That is so true." stated Ron as he walked in and handed Hermione the vial. She took it with out thinking and drank it. It only took a couple of seconds and Hermione started to feel better.

"Ah, thanks." she said in relief before sitting down next to Ginny, completely missing the small smile that had came on Ron's face when she said it. The boys sat across from the girls on the opposite bed so they could face each other to talk. "So is anyone going to tell me what is going on?" she asked out of the blue. The three teenagers shared a glance before looking back at Hermione.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ron, trying to sound innocent.

"Please, how blind do you think I am. First off, Ginny had finally come out of her shell, which is odd considering she had probably been spending all of her time with you guys. Ron hasn't blushed or been awkward around me once. Which, no offense, always happens when you give me a hug. Not to mention you seem more sure of your self right now. And Harry," here Hermione took a breathe. "No offense either, but after what happened at the Department of Mysteries I expected to see you more depressed, less smiley I guess. Don't get me wrong, I am happy that you are dealing with this so well, but it isn't what you would usually do. So I just want to know what has caused these changes in you. Good change, but changes none the less." finished Hermione looking at her friends expectantly. She saw the other three in the room exchange a look again.

"You're right Hermione. There is a reason for the changes. And there are some things we wanted to talk to you about when you got here. You just picked up on it before we had a chance to explain." started Harry. He took another breath to begin the complete explanation when they heard Mrs. Weasley's voice holler to them that it was lunch time.

"Okay, I guess we will explain it to you after we eat. I am so hungry." said Ron with finality in his voice as he got off the bed and walked to the door.

"But…" started Hermione, not believing they would leave her hanging like that.

"Sorry, we can talk about it later." said Ginny with a shrug of her shoulders as her and Harry followed Ron out the door. "We can't keep my mum waiting."

"Fine." grumbled Hermione, getting up and following her friends to the kitchen. "But it better be good." she hollered to them. All she got as a response was a smirk thrown over Ginny and Harry's shoulders.

When the teenagers entered the kitchen they were greeted with the wonderful aroma of Mrs. Weasley's cooking. The previous conversation that had been started up stairs was quickly forgotten by the teenagers as they sat down and started to fix their plates. The had a little small talk, but focused mostly on eating. The conversation stopped completely by a visitor nobody was expecting.

"Severus, what brings you here?" asked Remus, trying to be polite.

"If you recall Lupin, there is to be a meeting. Dumbledore asked me to arrive early." stated Snape snidely.

"Really? Why?" asked Remus curious. He hadn't been a marauder for no reason, he had an insatiable curiosity.

"If I knew that, I would've found a way to get out of it." replied Snape with his nose in the air. Ginny, Ron and Harry couldn't help but let out a snort at that remark, while Hermione just gave them disapproving looks. Snape gave them a suspicious glance, but did make a comment. "Like I don't have anything better to do than waste my time here."

, Ron and Harry were able to hold their snorts this time, but still shared an amused glance. Nobody else thought to continue the conversation so the kitchen fell into an uneasy silence, with Snape standing off into the corner. He was almost out of sight, but everyone seemed to feel his presence none the less. It was finally Hermione that tried to break the silence.

"By the way, thank you Mrs, Weasley for the pepper up potion. It helped a lot."

"What pepper up potion? Are you not feeling well dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley in concern.

"But if you didn't give me the potion, then where…" trailed off Hermione in thought. Finally her head whipped around to Ron. "Where did you get that potion from Ron?" asked Hermione accusingly.

Uh…I…uh…" stuttered Ron, looking at Harry and Ginny with uncertainty on his face. He didn't want the adults in the room to know about what he had been studying these last couple of weeks. It was Harry that came to his rescue.

"Oh, it was some that we had found in one of the bathroom in Sirius' old room." said Harry quickly. Ron just nodded his head in agreement. Severus didn't miss the fact that Potter was covering for the Weasley boy, he just didn't know what exactly he was trying to hide for his friend.

"What!" exclaimed Hermione. "I can't believe you two. Who knows how old that stuff was. I can't believe you would give that to me. It could've had an adverse effect from sitting so long in that cabinet." ranted Hermione, extremely upset.

"Hermione…" said Ginny, trying to calm her.

"I can't believe you allowed them to do that also Ginny. You're smarter than that." accused Hermione. Suddenly they heard a pecking at the window. Everyone in the kitchen looked at the window to see three owls waiting to be let in.

"Look it's the OWL results." exclaimed Ginny, knowing the effect it would have on her friend.

"Really! Already, I wonder how I did…" started Hermione, completely forgetting the lecture she had been giving to her friends. Ginny, Ron, and Harry grinned at each and tuned her out slightly, hearing it before.

"Here you go dears." said Mrs. Weasley's handing out the envelopes to the teenagers. Hermione ripped hers open excitedly.

"Oh my goodness, O's in everything. I can't believe it." Ginny, Ron and Harry rolled their knowing that there wasn't a chance of her getting anything else. Ron and Harry both opened theirs.

"So how did you boys do?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"I got O's in Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. A's in everything else." said Harry, glancing up from his parchment. Harry's scores were so surprising to those in the room. Except the fact that he managed to get even an A in potions. Everyone then looked at Ron expecting to hear his results. All they saw was a very disappointed look on his face as he set his paper down and walked out of the room.

"What's wrong?" asked his mum. Ginny looked at Ron's scores and then realized what had happened.

"He got an O in Defense, E's in Charms and Transfiguration and A's in everything else." explained Ginny. The other's in the room could see the light go off in Harry's eyes, but everyone else was lost.

"But that is great! Especially for Ron. All he wanted at the end of the year was to pass. He said himself that that would be enough for him." said Hermione in confusion.

"Well, it's not enough for him. Not anymore." said Ginny.

"It's time we had that talk Hermione." said Harry seriously as he and Ginny got up from the table to leave. Hermione, who was now thoroughly lost, got up and followed her friends out of the room. When they left, the occupants in the kitchen were silent, each caught up in their own thoughts. Finally Mrs. Weasley voiced hers.

"That's funny." she said, drawing the attention of everyone else in the kitchen. "I thought I had gotten rid of all the potions stashed away?"

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	8. Explanations

DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

ENJOY AND THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS

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Harry and Ginny led Hermione upstairs to the room the boys shared. Quietly they sat down together on Harry's bed, leaving Hermione to sit on Ron's. With one last glance at Ginny, Harry told Hermione the same thing he had told the two youngest Weasley's at his arrival at their house. Ginny then told Hermione how her and Ron had agreed with Harry and now trained and studied on a regular schedule.

"So, all your summer homework is done?" asked Hermione, who knew the question was lame and way off the point, but she was so shocked by what they had told her it was the only thing she could think to say. Harry just gave her a small chuckle.

"Yes, we finished it. We have been studying as many books as we could find at the Burrow. But now that we are here, we can start looking at the books in the library." explained Harry.

"Okay." said Hermione, still trying to grasp the concept of her friends studying willingly. "Despite how shocking all this is, I think it is a really great idea. I am proud of you Harry, for thinking through this logically. You to Ginny, Ron also, for realizing the importance of being prepared. Of course, I am going to join. I don't know how well I will do with all the physical stuff, but it needs to be done." she said with determination. "Now, I understand kind of why Ron was upset with his OWLS."

"Actually you don't." said Ginny simply, not trying to be rude.

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"Well, not only has Ron studied with us, but he found out that he is actually really good at a certain subject." said Harry.

"Amazingly good." added Ginny.

"Well, which subject is it?" asked Hermione, extremely curious about Ron's new found talent.

"The one that you need an E to even be considered to be allowed in, even then you might not be able to take it." said Harry.

"Potions!?" said Hermione in disbelief. "No way."

"Way." said Ginny.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Absolutely. That pepper up potion that we told you that we found." said Harry.

"Yeah." said Hermione slowly.

"He made it, about a week ago." Ginny told her.

"Really? That was a really good one. It took effect quickly." said Hermoine almost to herself. "But what I don't get is that Ron had to have known that he didn't score high on his potions OWLS."

"I don't think he actually thought about it till the scores showed up. I know I didn't." said Ginny. Hermione sat quietly, thinking about everything that her friends had told her.

"Where is he?" she asked, wanting to talk to him.

"Probably in Sirius' old room. That is where he had set up his equipment." explained Harry. He had agreed to let Harry use Sirius' room because he knew that Ron needed peace and quiet for his potions and no one really wanted to go into that room since Sirius was gone now.

Hermione nodded her head and stood up to leave, Harry and Ginny following behind her. When she reached Sirius old room, she knocked lightly and then opened the door to go in. A couple of steps inside the room and she stopped in shock, just like Harry and Ginny when Ron had first let them see what he was working on. Standing over a cauldron was Ron, stirring it slowly in deep concentration.

"Ron." she said quietly, to get his attention. He looked up at Hermione, also noticing Harry and Ginny standing by the door.

"Hey Hermione." he said in a depressed tone. Hermione walked closer and looked into the cauldron.

"What are you making?" she asked, trying to be conversational.

"It's a bone re-growth potion. Snape tried to teach it to us last year." he informed her. Hermione studied the potion. It really was perfect. She looked over to one of the tables set up in the room and saw numerous vials there. Walking over, she studied them also and was able to identify quite a few of them,

"Ron, this is amazing." she said with awe in her voice. She was thoroughly impressed with what he had accomplished.

"Yeah, well it's not like its going to matter any." said Ron in a resigned voice. He stopped stirring the potion and walked over to take an empty vial that was on the table. Hermione watched as he emptied some of the potion in the vial and corked it. Hermione never thought she had seen Ron so careful or confident in any type of school work, but he handled his finished potion like someone who had been doing it for years. She watched as he went to clean his cauldron. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend.

"Why don't you try asking Professor Snape to let you in his class?" asked Hermione. Ron let out a grunt.

"Yeah, because we know he is always doing things out of the kindness of his heart, especially when it comes to us." replied Ron sarcastically.

"Come on Ron. You can't just give up like this." Hermione said in exasperation. "You're to good at this to do that, and I have only seen partially what you can do." Ron just shook his head, continuing with his cleaning.

"She right Ron. What's the worst that could happen? He says no?" said Ginny.

"We have gotten so much worse from him." said Harry with a slight smile. "You should give it a try."

Ron looked at his friends in thought. He was 99.999999 percent sure that Snape would say no. But his friends were right. For the first time Ron had found something he was good at. Embarrassing himself in front of Snape by asking him a favor wasn't nearly as bad as the things he had done to embarrass himself before.

"Fine, I'll ask him. But don't get your hopes up." warned Ron. His friends just smiled at him knowing that the last phrase was also directed to himself.

When the teenager went back downstairs, Snape had already left and all that was left in the kitchen was Moody, Tonks and Remus. Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny went into the library to look at the selection of books their.

"Hey Hermione, you want to check mine and Harry's homework?" asked Ron, taking a book on healing potions.

"Why do I need to do that? I thought you guys have been studying?" asked Hermione.

"But Hermione, why would you want to break four years of tradition just because these two thought they should try to get smart." said Ginny smartly. Harry and Ron both chucked the sofa pillows at her, which she just barely managed to dodge.

"Please Hermione." begged Harry. Hermione just sighed.

"Fine, hand them over." she said, holding out her hand to except the parchment, which the boys handed over eagerly. Then they all sat back with their own books, Harry had picked up a Defense book while Ginny had grabbed a Charm. Soon they were all engrossed in what they were doing and didn't notice as hours passed, until Hermione finally handed back their homework.

"I have to say I am thoroughly impressed." remarked Hermione. "All your information was correct you just have to work on your grammar." she criticized.

"Enough just isn't enough with you , is it?" remarked Ron.

"I am going to pretend that I didn't hear that." she said, sitting down and grabbing a book on Ancient Runes. It was then that they heard the arrival of someone. Getting up, they walked to library door and peeked out into the hallway. There was Snape hanging up his cloak and starting toward the kitchen. The other three heard Ron sigh, before he pushed his way through the group and then into the hallway, going after Snape. Ginny, Hermione, and Harry gave each other surprised looks. They hadn't known that Ron was going to approach Snape so quickly and without any nudging.

"Professor Snape." hollered out Ron before Snape made it through the kitchen door. Severus turned around at hearing his named called from what he recognized as the youngest Weasley's voice. All Severus did was raise his eyebrow at the boy to show he was listening. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Ron. This time Severus raised both of his eyebrows in surprise.

"What exactly is it that you wish to say?" asked Severus, not in the mood for games.

"Could we talk in private?" asked Ron, looking around nervously.

"And give you and the golden trio a chance to pull something. Do you honestly expect me to fall for that?" asked Severus.

"I promise, I don't want to prank you. I just want to ask you something." pleaded Ron. Severus looked at the boy with uncertainty. While the twin Weasley's had been famous for it, he was sure that the youngest Weasley boy never had purposefully done anything to embarrass Severus. Plus, while the boy looked nervous, he did seem to suspicious, other than the fact he asking to talk to Severus.

"Fine Weasley, but make it quick." replied Severus, walking towards the boy. He could see Weasley visibly let his breath out.

"Thanks sir. Right this way." said Ron, leading the way to Sirius' old room. Opening the door, he walked in and then allowed Snape to pass. He was still nervous, but the fact that Snape was willing to at least listen to him helped his confidence a little bit.

When Severus walked in he immediately saw the table that had potion vials on it. Walking over to it, he studied them and realized they were the potions he taught in his classes. Now extremely curious he turned to face the youngest Weasley.

"Did you do these?" Severus asked doubtfully.

"Yeah." Ron answered, glancing nervously at the ground. "That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. I know you only except students with an E or above into your NEWT level class, and I obviously didn't get that. But this summer, I have kind of gotten the hand of potions so I was wondering if you would possible let me attend it anyways." asked Ron very quickly in one breath.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that you made all of these by yourself without the help of your know-it-all friend?" asked Severus snidely.

"I thought you might say that." said Ron. "That's why I want to make you a deal. You tell me to make a potion, any potion. If I manage to complete it to your standards, you let me in the class. If not, then I wont bother you about it again." bargained Ron.

"Any potion I say?" asked Severus, now extremely curious by the fact that the youngest Weasley thinks he could actually pull it off.

"Any potion." reaffirmed Ron.

"Fine, Versarium." said Severus with finality, knowing it was the last potion he taught in the 7th year classes.

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	9. Veritaserum

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DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

THANKS FOR MY REVIEWS, AND YES I DID SPELL VERITASERUM WRONG IN MY PREV. CHAPTER, BUT I FIXED IT IN THIS ONE. ENJOY!

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"Veritaserum? But that has to sit two weeks before it completed correctly!" said Ron in disbelief.

"You think I don't know that, you dunderhead." snapped Snape, although he was surprised that Weasley was aware of this fact. "Despite that, if the base of the potion is not done correctly, then it doesn't matter how long it sits, it will never be correct. If you were as smart as you seem to think you are then you would know that. If you can't prepare the beginning of the potion, then you might as well not even start." Ron couldn't help but glare at Snape and his quip at his intelligence, or lack there of.

"Fine, Veritaserum it is." replied Ron sarcastically as he went to his cupboard and started gathering ingredients before taking them back to his work table. Lighting the fire, he started cutting up his ingredients. That was when Snape realized something rather odd.

"Weasley, aren't you forgetting something?" asked Snape. Ron just raised his head and looked at him in confusion. "The instructions Weasley."

"Oh, okay." said Ron with a shrug, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a book. Snape watched him pull out the book and flip it open to one of the pages towards the center and then set it off to the side of his ingredients and continued his work. Snape couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at this because although he hadn't read one page of the book yet, Weasely had grabbed all the correct ingredients and was currently doing all the prep work correctly. Those actions alone had already shown Severus that the red head in front of him was not the same red head that had left Hogwarts.

Suddenly there was a tap at the door and Ron raised his head with a crease in his brow, obviously not liking the interruption. Severus waved his hand, sending the message to continue working while he walked towards the door. Opening it up a crack, he saw Lupin standing there was a questioning look on his face.

"Severus, Albus is here and is about to start the meeting." he informed him.

"I will be there once I am finished with some business. I am sure the meeting can go on with out me." Severus told Lupin, automatically going to shut the door, but Lupin stuck his foot in to stop it.

"Severus, what are you doing in Sirius' room?" asked Remus, confused.

'I am not going to desecrate your beloved Blacks memory in here, if that is what you're afraid of. If you have a problem with it, take it up with Potter." remarked Snape snidely before he shut the door in Lupin's face. Severus turned around to the boy at the cauldron, seeing Weasley look up when the door was slammed, Severus just waved his hand and Weasley looked back down to his things.

Severus watched, growing more and more surprised at Weasley's progress. He didn't look at his instruction book until it was time to start adding the ingredients. He read through the page once and that was it. Slowly and methodically, which were two words Severus never thought he would use when talking about a Weasley, he watched as the teenager worked on the potion.

Finally, Ron stirred his cauldron one last time. Not one word had been spoken by either of them the whole time the potion was being made, so Ron had no idea what Snape was thinking. Stepping slightly away from the potion to signal he was done, he watched as Snape walked forward and studied the potion, stirring it once. Then, without a word he walked to the door and left the room. Ron hung his head in disappointment and followed him out. In the hallway he saw the tail end of Snape's robe as it entered the kitchen and saw his friends waiting for him in the hallway.

"Well?" asked Hermione eagerly. Ron just shrugged his shoulders.

"Come on, maybe we can catch the end of the meeting." said Harry, giving Ron a pat on the back. The four Gryffindors walked towards the kitchen and looked through the crack of the door.

"Ah, Severus, glad you could make it." said Albus.

"I had other things I needed to attend to." explained Severus, taking his spot standing towards the back of the kitchen in a corner.

"Well, now that you're here, I want you to know that Mr. Potter will be in your NEWT level potions class." said Albus.

"Why is that? You know of my standards concerning my NEWT level class." asked Severus, obvious displeasure on his face.

"Because Severus, you need to continue your occlumency lessons," Severus went to say something, but the Headmaster held up his hand to stop him. "Before you say anything, I know that you two had an issue, but I am sure you can get past it. It is necessary that he learns it and extra potion lessons are the only way to explain his presence with you.." explained Albus. Severus glared at the Headmaster, clearly not liking the idea.

"Fine, have it your way." he said petulantly. "Mr. Weasley will be in the class as well." said Severus simple in a tone that stopped any argument that someone might have, and started to leave the room. The teenagers who had been watching from outside the kitchen grinned at what Snape said, with Harry giving Ron a high five. Ron felt like his smile would never leave him.

"Ron? Why will he be in the class?" asked Lupin curiously. Severus glanced at Lupin briefly before answering.

"Why have just one extra Gryffindor to torture when I can have two?" said Severus before walking out of the kitchen.

The teenagers who had been watching from outside the kitchen backed up quickly and started to head back to the room when they saw Snape starting to leave. Harry had stayed behind telling them he would be up in a minute. When Snape stalked out of the kitchen, he headed straight for the front door, but Harry stopped him.

"Professor Snape?" called out Harry. Snape turned around at being called out to.

"What is it with you Gryffindors today." snapped Snape, but stopped anyways.

"I just wanted to say thank you…for letting Ron join the class also." said Harry.

"I didn't do it for any gratitude from you Potter. You are more full of yourself than I thought if you think that." replied Snape.

"I know you didn't. I know Ron got into the class all on his own. But you could have said no. When he asked you to let him demonstrate to you, especially letting him in the class. You could have said no to all of it, just because of the fact that he is Weasley, or a part of the Golden Trio. But you saw his amazing potential and are giving him a chance. That is what I am thanking you for."

"He isn't that good at it." remarked Snape in disbelief, not believing the praise Potter was giving his friend.

"No not yet. But he didn't even give potions a second glance until two weeks ago. If he progressed this far in that amount of time, imagine what he could do after a year in your class." said Harry, before turning his back on Snape and walking to the room where his friends were waiting for him.

Severus watched the Gryffindor boy walk away in thought. Two weeks? That was all? That was pretty extreme, even in Severus' standards. He would have to keep an eye on the Weasley boy. But as he walked away, it was another thought that plagued Severus' mind the most, for it was trying to comprehend the fact that Severus realized that Potter may have actually given him a compliment.

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HOPE YOU LIKE IT. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW FOR ME!!!


	10. PROTECTION

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

I FINISHED THIS QUICKLY SO I APOLOGIZE FOR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS. IF THERE ARE A LOT I WILL BE REPOSTING. HOPE YOU ENJOY

* * *

Nothing eventful happened for the next week and a half at Headquarters, although the adults had noticed the children's odd behavior. Just like at the burrow, the teenagers were seen exercising in the morning, doing there chores and then in the evening they would be in the library studying. During the afternoon is when they noticed that the group split up for a couple of hours. Ginny and Hermione would lock themselves in their room, not telling even the boys what they were up to. Ron would lock himself in Sirius' room, working on his potions. And Harry could most often be found in the library.

It was at that time when Harry was by himself that he would study books about the Dark Arts. Half of the things he read appalled him, but it gave him a better understanding as to what Voldemort could do. It was also at that time that Harry would meditate. While studying, he had decided to research occlumency. In one of the books that he found, he had read that meditation was good at clearing your head, and Harry recalled that whenever Snape would cast a legilimency on him he immediately thoughts of the things he didn't want Snape to see. Now he was concentrating on being able clear his mind without effort and then apply that to occlumency. He had gotten better at it, and often meditated for hours.

Other than that, the adults were surprised to see that Harry hung out with the twin a lot. Usually Fred and George would show up for lunch, and before and after that they would spend time with Harry. Remus couldn't help but think that it was the most that he had ever seen Harry smile, especially around Fred. Watching those two together reminded him greatly of another couple he had known. Although, Remus wasn't sure how happy Harry would be being compared to a Slytherin. He did hope that if something did happen between the two that it would end up better than the other couple he had known.

The next day Hermione and Ginny walked into the library to talk with Harry and Ron before they left for Diagon Alley. Today was the day that their mother, Remus and Tonks were going to take them to get there school supplies. As soon as they walked in they noticed that Harry was by himself, but Ron came in not a minute after them.

"Hey you guys, I got some potions that I want you to carry with you. Most are healing, but I have some others that may help during any kind of situation." said Ron immediately. Ginny, Hermione and Harry took the potion packs from Ron and opened them up. There were at least ten potions in there, all which they recognized and would be very useful if something was to happen to them. "I had George make the vials unbreakable and the bags extremely fool proof. They should be safe in there."

"Oh way Ron, this amazing." commented Hermione. "You know, you seem to be really good at healing potions."

"Yeah, I noticed that. Which is probably good considering how many times Harry and I get hurt." said Ron with a grin.

"To true mate, to true." said Harry, shaking his head with a grin.

"Ron, you are missing the big picture here. I mean, with your talent in potions you could do anything you wanted. You could become a Potions Master, or a healer since you make that type of potion so well." ranted Hermione.

"Hermione." pleaded Ron, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down embarrassingly. "But Ron you could…" Ginny had noticed how uncomfortable Ron was getting, so she had decided to save him by interrupting Hermione.

"Hermione, give Ron a break. Besides we have something else to talk about, _remember_?" said Ginny.

"Oh yeah!" said Hermione, her excitement bubbling. Her and Ginny smiled at each other before reaching into their pockets before pulling out little cases and handing them to the boys. "We made something for you."

"For us?" asked Ron confused.

"Well, we each have one also. We made them for the four of us." explained Ginny, her and Hermione reaching into their other pockets and pulling out identical cases to the ones that they gave the boys. "Go on, open them." Ginny urged.

Ron and Harry glance at each other before opening up the boxes simultaneously. Inside was something that look very similar to a watch, but it was far from any watch he had ever seen. There was what appeared to be an emblem where the face of the watch would have been at. In the center of it were some symbols that Harry recognized as ancient runes. What they actually said, he did not know because he had not gotten that far in his Ancient Rune studies as it wasn't his top priority.

Surrounding the symbols were four different section with a creature in each. One had a lion, the other what appeared to be a panther, a cat in another and in the last a phoenix. The wrist band was made of a thick leather band with more ancient runes etched all along it. The boys looked at the girls with clear confusion on his face.

"What are these?" asked Ron.

"There protective slash alerting bands." said Hermione. "Ginny came up with the idea."

"Well, I was just think about those coins that Hermione made for the D.A. last year and thought that if we could go even further with that, then we would be able to stay connected better." stated Ginny.

"Okay…so how do they work?" asked Harry, intrigued.

"Well, basically the center is just like the original coins. You press the center and it alerts all of us that you need us."

"How do you know which one pressed it originally?" asked Ron.

"Because the animal that corresponds with the person who originally pressed the button will react also. It will also produce an arrow pointing in the direction of the person who needs help." explained Hermione. The boys stared at the bands, letting the information sink in.

"So wait…these animals represent us?" asked Ron in bafflement.

"Yup." said Ginny proudly.

"Well, who is which one?" asked Harry, curious.

"Oh, duh. Well the lion is Ron, the panther is you Harry, the cat is me and the phoenix is Ginny." Hermione explained.

"Why a lion?" asked Ron, curious as to the selection of each animal to represent them.

"Because you are fiercely loyal to your friends, you have an enormous temper, and you are kind of the head of this group. Without you, I don't think we could hold together." explained Hermione and Ron couldn't help but blush at her compliments.

"And Harry is a panther because he can be very dark and fierce, but extremely lovable just like a feline. And he would protect those around him with everything he had." explained Ginny.

"Thanks." said Harry.

"Hermione is a cat because a cat is extremely intelligent, loyal and are very prideful." explained Ginny.

"Ginny is a phoenix because she always come back as brightly as ever whenever she gets burned." said Hermione, and everyone knew she was referring to how Ginny had risen above what had happened with Riddle and the diary. Ginny looked down a little embarrassed. To her the fact that her friend thought she represented a phoenix was a huge compliment.

"I think they are all very appropriate." said Ron, still feeling guilty about not being there for his little sister.

"Thanks Ron." said Ginny, blushing lightly. But then her face brightened. "Anyways, the bands have Ancient Runes on them for protection. They are not impenetrable, but are quite strong once the bracelets are activated."

"How do we activate them?" asked Harry.

"Simple, just put them on and then we all press the center together. They should glow brightly and then fade. The bracelet will latch onto the arm and will be unable to remove. So you need to be sure that you want it on." said Ginny. Everyone looked at the bracelets in thought, knowing that once the bracelets were attached they wouldn't ever be able to come off, which meant they would always be connected to those in the room.

"I have no problem with it, under one condition." said Ron, looking up at his best friends, which also included his sister. "When we are in trouble, no matter how small, we use them. I don't want anyone to say they didn't use it because they didn't want the others to think they couldn't handle themselves in a fight. Each one could always use an extra set of hands in a confrontation. None of us would think any less of anyone for calling for help." stated Ron, mainly looking at Harry and Ginny.

"Okay, I agree." said Ginny.

"Of course I agree." said Hermione. Everyone looked at Harry, knowing how he would have a hard time with this because he didn't want anyone to get hurt because of him.

"Mate, what was the point of us doing all this training this summer if you wont ask us for help when you need it?" asked Ron.

"Alright, I promise, I will call for help." accepted Harry grudgingly. The others smiled and they all put on their bands. Together they pressed the button and a great white light filled the library. Just as suddenly it was gone and the teenagers all looked at each other and smiled.

"That was bloody brilliant." said Ron.

"Lets just hope we don't have to use them that much." said Harry. What none ofthem knew was that they were going to use them a lot sooner than they thought.

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PLEASE REVIEW. I WANT TO HEAR ANY AND ALL COMMENTS.


	11. Diagon Alley

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS.

TO MY REVIEWERS, THANK YOU

THE POTTERS WILL BE TAKEN TO HARRY DURING THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY. DON'T WORRY, I WONT DRAG OUT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR TO LOND. I AM NOT FOND OF WRITING CLASSROOM SCENES.

JUST SO YOU KNOW IN ADVANCE, I KNOW I SPELLED THE ROBE SHOP NAME WRONG, BUT I DON'T HAVE A WAY TO FIND THE CORRECT SPELLING AT THE MOMENT. FORGIVE ME.

THIS CHAPTER IS ONE OF MY LONGER ONES BECAUSE I COULDN'T FIND A GOOD PLACE TO CUT IT OFF.

* * *

It was shortly after Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione had attached their wrist bands that Mrs. Weasley had called to them, letting them know it was time to get going. They congregated in the entry way, the four teenagers along with Mrs. Weasely, Tonks and Remus,

"Hey mom, can we buy Harry and Ron some clothes that actually fit them when we get to Diagon Alley." spoke up Ginny.

"Gin." said Ron in embarrassment.

"Maybe this whole 'her coming out of her shell' thing wasn't such a good idea." commented Harry, although the idea of having clothes that were actually his size was kind of nice.

"If Harry would like us to take him that wont be a problem. But I am sorry Ron, but your dad and I just can't afford any new clothes right now." said Mrs. Weasley with disappointment.

"I'll buy them." piped up Harry.

"That's okay dear." started Mrs. Weasley, but Ron cut her off.

"Absolutely not! I am not a charity case, mate. I am not going to take your money." said Ron vehemently.

"But Ron you're my best friend. Why can't I help you with this." asked Harry.

"I already told you, I am not a charity case." answered Ron stubbornly.

"Fine, how about this. Hermione, do you have a piece of parchment and quill?" asked Harry. Hermione searched in her bag and then pulled out what Harry had asked for, handing it to him. "I will write here that any money that I spend for you, you will pay back once you have the finances available. We will both sign it and then we will list each time that money was spent on, like on clothes, books or even a new broom. Okay? And I will hold you to it for as long as we both shall live." said Harry with a small grin at the pun. Ron studied Harry briefly before letting out a sigh.

"Fine, fine. But it wont be a lot. Plus, it will only happen just this trip and none else. Deal?" asked Ron, holding out his hand.

"Deal." said Harry, grinning broadly, shaking his hand.

"Yes." said Ginny, pumping her fist in the air. "This is going to awesome."

"Alright, enough of that. Lets get going, we will be getting school supplies first." said Mrs. Weasley. "I also need to find time to get some things for here."

"How about Remus and I take the kids clothes shopping while you do your other shopping?" suggested Tonks."

"Why do I get volunteered?" asked Remus.

"Come on professor, it will be fun. Besides, you wouldn't leave Ron and I to the girls would you?" said Harry, giving his professor puppy eyes. Remus sighed.

"Fine." he said, not even trying to argue. "Molly if you want us to take them while you do your other shopping, then we will."

"Yes!" This time it was Tonks who pumped her fist in the air.

"Alright. But you five have to listen to Remus." said Mrs. Weasley, knowingly including Tonks in the reprimand.

"Yes, ma'am." said the four teenagers and the auror. Since everything was decided, they all reached for the old boot that was their portkey and felt the familiar tug at their navels.

When they arrived, Remus tossed the boot to the side and followed as Mrs. Weasley directed the group to the book store for their text books. Upon entering, the four teenagers immediately went their separate ways. Ginny went to the Charms section, Harry went to the Defense section, Hermione went to the Ancient Runes section and the three adults were surprised when Ron went to the potions sections.

"I take it we will have to collect their school books. It doesn't look like those are the ones they are concerned about." commented Tonks.

"Yes, I suppose. I will grab Ron and Ginny's if you two will grab the others. I have a feeling that we might be in here longer than planned if we don't." commented Mrs. Weasley, although she was quite proud of their obvious interest in their studies.

Harry had grabbed the defense books he wanted so he walked over to where Ron was. He saw Ron with a couple of books in his arms and Harry couldn't help but smile at the odd sight. When Harry stood next to him, Ron turned his head and gave him a small smile.

"Hey mate. You tell anybody about this and I will slip the most embarrassing potion into your pumpkin juice when we get to Hogwarts." stated Ron.

"How could you possibly know that I was thinking something like that?" asked Harry, but Ron just shrugged his shoulders and gave him a grin. "So you find anything interesting?"

"Of course, but I can't get them all." said Ron, shifting through the books he had in his arms.

"Why not?" asked Harry.

"You know why not. There is no way my mum could afford these."

"Ah, but you forgot that I said I would pay for it and you would pay me back." reminded Harry.

"That was for clothes." argued Ron.

"Actually I do believe my exact words were 'on clothes, books or even a new broom.' And you told me that it was just for today. So those are books and it is still today, so I am paying for it." Harry said with finality in his voice.

"Fine." said Ron, shifting through the books before putting one with obvious regret back on the shelf before walking away. Harry looked at the book, _Advanced Healing Potions,_ and saw that it was easily one of the most expensive in the store. Harry grabbed it and put it with his books before following Ron to the girls who were in the process of buying their books. When he walked up he grabbed Ginny's books and added them to his own before setting them next to Ron's books on the counter.

"Hey, I was going to see if mum could get those!" said Ginny indignantly.

"Come on Ginny, do you honestly think that I would offer to help with Ron's purchase and not yours also." said Harry.

"Harry." said Ginny warningly.

"Hey, your making me buy clothes and I am making you accept the fact that I am buying your books. Deal with it." stated Harry before handing the coins needed to the witch, who had rang up the books during the discussion. Ginny just glared at Harry as Remus joined them.

"Ready?" he asked before seeing the large stack of books gathered on the desk. "Found some things that you liked."

"Some." replied Harry smartly. "Can you shrink these and lighten them for us?"

"Sure." said Remus, before doing as asked. He handed the books to Harry, who pocketed them. The group then made their way to get their potion supplies. Ron lingered here and Harry would follow behind him and picked up the things that he looked interested in. By the time he reached the witch at the counter, his arms were filled. Ron finally noticed his friend as Harry set them down to pay for them.

"Harry!" said Ron.

"What? How are you supposed to pay me back unless you have all the right ingredients to invent a new potion." replied Harry

"Mate, that is my own crazy idea, one that is most likely not possible." responded Ron with impatience.

"Well, you'll never know unless you have the right ingredients to work with." said Harry handing over some money. "Besides I just paid for them so if you don't take them then I just wasted my money."

"Sometimes I think the hat was right about you being in Slytherin." stated Ron, but Harry just grinned like it was a compliment.

Next the group separated and the teenagers and the aurors went to Gringotts while Mrs. Weasley went to do her errands. First they went to Madam Milks to get new robes. Next they went to a shop that sold mainly muggle clothes. Harry and Ron were forced to try on countless outfits, while Ginny and Hermione tried on quite a few themselves. Finally when they left it was with two very grouchy boys, two accomplished girls and two highly amused aurors. The group headed towards a small restaurant for lunch.

"I can't believe you made me buy leather pants." groaned Ron.

"Because you look good in them." stated Hermione.

"Ron, I am your sister and I have to agree with Hermione." said Ginny.

"Why didn't Harry have to buy leather pants." complained Ron, dropping into the chair in the restaurant.

"Because, Harry is more of a jeans man." replied Ginny as everyone else sat down and ordered their lunch. When the teenagers had finished eating, they waited until Remus and Tonks went to get more drinks to discuss something important.

"This would be a good time to attack with so many students doing school shopping." stated Harry.

"Yeah, we need to find a way to scope the alley" said Ron.

"Hermione and I will. Harry, give me your cloak. Just follow my lead Hermione." said Ginny quickly. Harry slipped the cloak to Ginny under the table right before the adults returned. "Remus, can Hermione and I run next door. There is some jewelry we want to pick up. Please, please." she begged.

"Tonks can you go?" asked Remus.

"Professor, she just got her tea refilled and it will get cold by the time she get back. Yours to." stated Ginny.

"I don't know." said Remus slowly.

"Please professor. I promise we will behave and it will just be next door." said Hermione logically. Remus studied her and realized that if he could trust anyone it was Hermione.

"Alright. But next door and then right back." said Remus.

"Thank you!" said Ginny, jumping up and giving Remus a hug. Hermione rose out of her seat with a little less excitement.

"Thank you professor. We will be right back." Hermione and Ginny walked out of the restaurant. Quickly they walked past the jewelry store to a hidden alley and then slipped on the invisibly cloak.

"Lets go this way first." instructed Ginny, nodding to the end of the alley that didn't get a lot of business. Hermione nodded her head in agreement. They walked to the end of the alley without seeing anything out of the ordinary. When they turned around and started to return to the group, they heard slight pops. Looking towards the wall at the end of the alley they saw ten Death Eaters appear.

The girls glanced at each other before quickly pressing the center button on their wrist bands. Back at the restaurant, both Harry and Ron looked down as their wrist bands went off. Looking at each other it was Harry that spoke

"Remus, Death Eaters are about to attack." he said, standing up from his chair, along with Ron, while Remus and Tonks looked at the two in shock.

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PLEASE REVIEW, I ACCEPT ANY AND ALL COMMENTS. I WILL TRY TO POST AGAIN SOON


	12. The Attack

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

I HOPE YOU ENJOY. SORRY ABOUT THE LENGTH!!

* * *

"What!" said Remus, as he and Tonks jumped up out of their seats.

"I said Death Eaters are about to attack Diagon Alley." repeated Harry, starting towards the exit of the restaurant.

"How do you know?" asked Tonks, following Harry. Suddenly they heard screams coming from outside. Tonks and Remus ran ahead of Harry and then looked towards the right, were the most popular shops were located.

"Death Eaters." remarked Remus before turning towards the two boys. "You two stay here. I mean it." Then he and Tonks went running outside where all the commotion was coming from. Harry and Ron stood at the door and frowned at each other, looking down at their wrist bands.

"That's odd, the bands say Hermione and Ginny are in the opposite direction." commented Harry.

"That makes sense. Everyone is so focused on the current attack, the Death Eaters can come up and surprise them from behind." commented Ron, thinking about the strategy.

"Well then, lets go help Hermione and Ginny fend them off." said Harry as they started running in the direction that their wristbands were pointing them. As they reached the end of the Alley, they decided to hide in an alley way to assess the situation. There were ten Death Eater in the center of the road trying to fight off curses, but you could tell that they had no idea where they were coming from. Looking down at his watch, Harry saw Hermione's arrow pointing to the right side of the road while Ginny's was pointing to the left.

"They are attacking from each side." commented Harry.

"Good idea." remarked Ron. "As a matter of fact, if one of us can make it on the other side and start attacking it will prevent them from being able to move forward at all. It would be best though that they don't see us, like they can't see them."

"Okay, cast a disillusion charm on me and I will go across the road and then we will start the attack." said Harry. Ron nodded his head and cast the charm. Harry hurried across the road and got into a position so that the Death Eater couldn't see him. He nodded to Ron, and they simultaneously sent their first attack out.

"What the hell!" commented a Death Eater. "There are more of them."

"Where?" hollered the leader.

"I don't know, I still can't see anyone." The four teenagers grinned. They continued there attack and hitting there target repeatedly. It wasn't long before each and every Death Eater had been hit with a cutting curse and were bleeding from their cheek.

"That's enough! This isn't getting us anywhere. McNair, alert the others that we aren't coming. It's time to return to the Dark Lord." the leader ordered, but you could tell he wasn't happy about the last part. Suddenly all the Death Eaters apparated with multiple pops. Once they were gone, the four teenagers met at the middle of the road.

"Good job you guys." said Harry.

"We had surprise and concealment on our side, so it worked out well." commented Ginny,

"What others were they talking about?" asked Hermione.

"At the same time you alerted us, a group attacked the opposite side of the Alley. That was where Tonks and Remus went. Apparently they were planning on surrounding and trapping everyone." informed Ron. The girls nodded their head accepting the answer.

"We better get back to the restaurant. You hear them, they plan on leaving so Remus will expect us there." said Harry and the four took off towards the restaurant they had occupied previously.

Remus and Tonks watched as another Death Eater apparated into the fight, but instead of joining it merely yelled out to return to base and then disappeared again. The other Death Eaters looked at each other in confusion before disapparating also. Remus and Tonks looked around, but couldn't find anymore threats, so they looked for injured witches or wizards. There weren't many so once they were tended to the two Aurors made their way back to the teenagers they had left behind, hoping they were okay. When they entered the restaurant they saw the four sitting at the table, talking softly and drinking their drinks.

"Is it over?" asked Ginny as innocently as she could.

"Yes." said Tonks, taking a seat.

"What did you guys do?" asked Remus suspiciously.

"I don't know what your talking about." commented Harry.

"When Ginny and I heard the fight start, we came back in here to stay with Harry and Ron." explained Hermione. Remus just looked at them suspiciously about ready to accuse them of something when Mrs. Weasley rushed in.

"Oh, thank god you're okay." she gushed, running up to the children and giving them a each a huge hug. "I was so worried."

"They are fine Molly, but I think we should head back to headquarters." said Remus, pulling out a key chain that was their return portkey.

"Off course Remus. Come on everyone. Its time to go." The group all reached for the portkey and when Remus said the activation word, they all felt the familiar tug in their navels. When they landed Harry fell over, knocking over the other teenagers, resulting in all of them tumbling to the ground. As soon as they stood up, Dumbledore came rushing in, twinkle gone from his eye.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Death Eater attack." said Tonks simply.

"But they left suddenly. I don't know what happened." stated Remus.

"I had received an owl about it and then Severus' was called. He will arrive after to tell us what he can." commented Dumbledore before turning to the kids. "Everyone okay?"

"Perfectly fine." commented Ginny.

"Good, Good." he responded.

"Why don't we all sit down for tea until Severus gets here." commented Mrs. Weasley.

"Headmaster. Can we listen to what Professor Snape has to say." asked Harry.

"Yeah, we would like to know why they attacked." added Ginny.

"I don't know about that." started the Headmaster.

"I think they should." interrupted Remus. "They were there when it happened and they are getting older. We can't everything from them." Dumbledore still looked unsure.

"I will allow it." said Mrs. Weasley. "This isn't actually an order meeting, just a report. It wont hurt to have them there." Mrs. Weasley knew that everyone would be shocked at her acceptance, but after watching their diligence throughout the summer so far, she knew that the children could handle it.

"I suppose since Molly doesn't have an issue with it, then you will be allowed to be there." said Dumbledore, but you could tell he didn't like the idea. Harry couldn't help but wonder at that. He had realized throughout the summer that a lot that Dumbledore did didn't add up and he was starting to doubt the motives of the older man.

"Thank mum." said Ginny and Ron together, giving her a wide grin.

"Come on, to the kitchen for tea and biscuits then." said Mrs. Weasley. The group gathered in the kitchen and ate their biscuits and drank their tea, waiting for Severus to arrive. The four talked about little things amongst themselves, but Remus kept on shooting them suspicious glances, knowing he had missed something that had happened back in Diagon Alley. Finally, Severus swooped into the kitchen.

"Ah, Severus, at last. What information can you tell us about the attack." started Dumbledore immediately wanting answers.

"Apparently it had been planned in advance, but the Dark Lord failed to mention it to me because of suspicion that I was a spy. They planned to attack the front of the alley and then have a group attack from behind." informed Severus.

"But there wasn't attack from behind." commented Remus and he couldn't help but notice the looks the four teenagers shared.

"That is because that group was attacked before they had a chance to advance."

"Attacked by who?" asked Tonks.

"They are not certain. They claim they had to have been surrounded by Aurors but none of them actually saw any." commented Severus. This time it was he that noticed the smile the four Gryffindors shared and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in speculation.

"There were no Aurors other than the ones in the fight with Remus and I." said Tonks.

"Be that as it may. Someone attacked them and effectively stopped the fight due to the lack of reinforcements." said Severus.

"And what about Voldemorts suspicions of you?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well, who ever attacked the rear group actually made it appear that the Order knew about the attack ahead of time. Since I was not informed of said attack, it has taking me out of suspicion as a spy,, but now the Dark Lord is curious as to who in his inner circle is betraying him." Again, Severus noticed the looks the Gryffindors shared, getting suspicious himself.

"Well, that did turn in our favor then. I do wonder who these mysterious protectors are though." said Dumbledore thoughtfully.

"Another bit of information that you might want to know is that not only did they stop there advance, but said mysterious protectors marked the ten Death Eaters." said Severus.

"Marked how?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"They each were hit with a cutting curse that was directed directly at their cheek. Each Death Eater that was in that group has a three inch diagonal scar on their left cheek. No magic with vanish them and only a strong concealment charm with hide them." informed Severus.

"So we will be able to tell who was in that group by the scar." remarked Remus.

"Unofficially of course, since this information came from Severus. But it will give us a head up as to who is following Voldemort." said Dumbledore before standing up. "Thank you Severus for the update. I must head back to Hogwarts now. Enjoy your day." he said before getting up and leaving.

"Mum, I think we are going to go in the library for a little bit." Ron told his mum.

"Alright dear." she said, starting to clear the tabled. Remus watched them go before deciding to get some answers. When he reached the library, they were sitting in a furniture facing each other. He pushed the door closed so that it was only left open a crack before entering the library fully.

"Okay, tell me what you did." accused Remus.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ron.

"We didn't do anything." assured Harry.

"Let me get this straight, you four are trying to tell me that you sat idly by why Diagon Alley was getting attack, with innocent lives at stake. Not to mention the pointlessness of all the training you have been doing if what you say is true." said Remus frankly. The four teenagers looked at him in silence before Ron chuckled.

"Yeah you're right that doesn't sound like us at all." said Ron. The other chuckled as well, realizing how bad their cover story was.

"So you guys were the group of 'Aurors' that surrounded them?" asked Remus.

"Yeah, but that theory is just ridiculous. If we were Aurors, why didn't we try to arrest them or figure out who they were?" asked Ginny.

"True, but how did you do it?" asked Remus.

"Well, when Hermione and Ginny left they didn't really go to the jewelry shop." said Harry. Remus looked at Hermione is disappointment.

"And I thought you were the one that wouldn't lie to me." he commented.

"I am really sorry, but we knew that today would be an opportune time to attack and we wanted to scope out the area and it was the only way we could get away. And technically I didn't lie, I only said that we would behave and be right back." Hermione said quickly, feeling guilty. Remus thought back on the conversation and realized she was right.

"I'll let you off this time." Remus said before starting to walk to the door of the library. "One more question. How did you tell the boys the Death Eaters were attacking?" he asked.

"Now what fun would it be if we gave you all of our secrets." said Harry with a smile.

"Alright. But I just want you four to know that I am very proud of what you did today. You were planned and efficient. And you didn't get yourselves hurt. Thank you." He said before walking out.

Unknown to those in the library, Severus had been listening in ever since Lupin had entered the library. He couldn't help but be impressed when the four revealed their participation at Diagon Alley. When he heard Lupin start to head for the door, he walked towards the entrance of the house and stepped outside. It was just getting dark and Severus couldn't help but look up at the sky and have a single thought before apparating away. If anyone could read his mind they would have heard him say

'You would be so proud.'

* * *

PLEASE REVIEW!!! ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU WANT!


	13. Surprises

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

NOW FOR SOME ANSWERS TO MY REVIEWERS...

PANTHER73110 - NO, JAMES DOESN'T KNOW HARRY IS ALIVE AND DUMBLEDORE DOESN'T KNOW JAMES IS ALIVE. JAMES WILL EXPLAIN LATER ON.

EVIL-SAMI-POO - I AM NOT EXACT ON HOW MANY MORE CHAPTERS, BECAUSE SOMETIMES THEY TURN OUT TO BE MORE THAN I PLANNED. BUT THEIR WILL BE AT LEAST TWO. HOPEFUL THAT IS IT. I HATE CLASSROOM SCENES.

THANKS FOR THE QUESTIONS AND DON'T HESITATE TO ASK MORE.

* * *

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione continued on with there routine despite what had happened in Diagon Alley. They girls had insisted they wear their new clothes right away, explaining that they had to get used to wearing them after wearing clothes that were the wrong size for so long. The boys had reluctantly agreed and it was at lunch the following day that Fred had first saw Harry in them. Immediately he stopped in his tracks.

"Oh Merlin." he whispered catching sight of the younger boy. Fred had whispered it low enough so that the only one who heard was George, who chuckled softly seeing what his brother was staring at.

"Watch it, you're starting to drool." he commented and Fred snapped his mouth shut before sauntering over to Harry.

"Harry, my man." started Fred, throwing his arm over Harry's shoulders. "Nice threads. Did you get all dressed up for me? I am honored, but really its just lunch." he teased.

"Please." said Harry, playfully elbowing him in the ribs, but not moving out from under his arms. "Your sister and Hermione decided to play dress up with me and Ron. I feel ridiculous."

"Believe me Harry, ridiculous is defiantly not how you look." said Fred, looking straight into Harry's eyes. Harry had thought Fred was giving him a compliment, but the longer the two stared at each other, the more Harry couldn't help but think Fred was flirting with him. But that was ridiculous. Why on earth would Fred want to flirt with Harry. With that thought in mind, Harry finally moved out from under Fred's arm just as Ron walked in, completely missing the disappointed looked that flitted across Fred's face.

"Ronnikens!" Greeted the twins at the same time.

"Leather pants!" said George in surprise.

"Why we never knew you…" began Fred before he was cut off by Ron.

"Not another word. It was all Ginny and Hermione's idea." he said grumpily before sitting at the table. Others started entering the kitchen and taking their seats, so the twins decided to drop it. George went to sit next to Ginny while Fred, instead of sitting next to his twin like he usually did, sat next to Harry and started talking about their shop possibly going to France. Ron seemed to be the only one to notice this and couldn't help but think back to his and Harry's discussion behind the burrow. Ron smiled slightly at the two of them together and then went to his lunch.

It wasn't until a couple of days before they were to leave for Hogwarts that something serious happened during their training. The had been going through their practical dueling stage when a snake slithered into the yard and his voice threw off Harry's concentration, which allowed a cutting curse sent from Ginny to hit his arm directly. Harry immediately dropped to the ground, grabbing his arm while it instantly started gushing blood.

"Harry, oh Merlin. I'm sorry." hollered Ginny, as the she, Hermione and Ron ran over to him. Immediately Ron pulled Harry's hand away from the wound to see how deep it got.

"Bloody hell, it cut the triceps muscle." muttered Ron to himself, instinctively reaching his fingers into the wound and grabbing a hold of the muscle and the artery surrounding it to stop the bleeding.

"Ginny, go get help, quick." ordered Hermione as she watched Ron dig his fingers into Harry's arm, while Harry gritted his teeth trying not to holler out in pain. Ginny started running straight to the door to get inside the house, but right before she entered a bright light in her peripheral vision made her turn back to her friends.

Ron was still kneeling next to Harry, but their was a white glow coming from where his hands were in Harry's arm. Ginny quickly ran back to the group to watch what was going on. Ron had a very concentrated look on his face, while Hermione's face was filled with shock. Ginny could vaguely see Ron's hands moving through the glow, but still had no idea what he was doing. Finally he pulled his hand out of the wound and laid his hand over the wound. Finally, the glow went away, and when Ron pulled his hand back, all that was left was a barely visible scar. Ron sat back on his heels looking thoroughly drained. Harry looked at his arm then at his best mate in surprise.

"Ron, what did you do?" he asked.

"I don't know." said Ron, staring at the arm, but not seeming to focus on it. "I just kept thinking if we could only stop the bleeding. If only we could reconnect everything. And then the glow started and my hands got warm and could feel the veins and the muscles I was holding start to reconnect.

"What made you do it?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know. It was like a little voice inside my head was telling me what to do. I mean I have been reading a lot on healing and stuff, but I haven't read anything on that." explained Ron.

"How do you feel Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Great. Their isn't any pain at all, just a little bit of stiffness. That we can deal with easily. I am just shocked is all." said Harry, still staring at his best mate, just like the girls were.

"Why are you guys staring at me like that?" asked Ron worriedly.

"Because Ron, somehow you just did wandless magic and unknowingly reattached muscles." informed Ginny.

"I am going to have to do some research and find out exactly what is going on." said Hermione, her mind already thinking about what books she would have to read.

"That's not bad is it?" asked Ron.

"Oh Ron, of course not." said Hermione, coming back to her friends.

"It's amazing actually." said Ginny, with a smile.

"Oh, okay." said Ron, looking at Harry who was grinning at him broadly.

"Thanks mate. I owe you one." Harry said. The four decided to end their training for the day and unanimously agreed not to mention this to anybody, especially Ron's new found wandless healing powers. Ron gave Harry some medication to take care of the stiffness of his arm and no ever knew the difference.

It didn't take long for Hermione to find a book in the library concerning wandless healing magic. She showed it to Ron and he immediately took it to read it. Apparently, the ability was extremely rare. Even if a wizard had it, they wouldn't be aware because it usually lies dormant. It is only under extreme circumstances with a powerful wizard that the ability could become active. Once it was activated though, the wizard would be able to tap into it whenever needed, but only for healing purposes. He had tried it when he had gotten a paper cut, and he was able to heal it instantly.

Finally, it was the day that they would all leave for Hogwarts. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with Tonks and Remus were going to take them to the train. The twins had apologized to them saying they had a meeting for their store and wouldn't be able to go with them. The four students had decided to meet one last time after their exercise in the library.

"We will all meet behind Hagrid's hut at three thirty in the morning so that we can go into the forbidden forest to continue our training." informed Harry. The others nodded their heads in agreement.

"You guys, what are we going to do about the Slytherins this year?" asked Ginny.

"What about the Slytherins?" asked Hermione.

"Well, its just we have come so far this summer and I would hate to see us stoop as low as them. Do we have to keep up all the taunting? Can't we give it a rest.?" she pleaded. "I am so tired of the rivalry. It's emotionally exhausting."

"So you want us to be friends with the Slytherins? Malfoy?" asked Harry.

"No, not friends. Just…lets not rise to the bait. Acknowledge them but not fight or argue with them. Agreed?" The three sixth years looked at each. Ginny was actually asking for quite a bit but she was right. The rivalry was ridiculous.

"Fine" said Hermione. "We will tolerate them." she said as the boys reluctantly nodded their heads in agreement. Ginny grinned at them.

"Good. Now lets go. Mum is probably waiting for us." she said and the teenagers took their trunks and met Mrs. Weasley at the front door. They were going to travel to the Platform in two regular muggle cars. The girls climbed into one, sharing it with Tonks and Remus. The boys climbed into the other with Ron's parents. The ride to the train was relatively quick and soon they were standing on the platform saying their good byes. By the time they entered the train it was almost filled up but the four managed to find their own compartment towards the back of the cabin.

"Ah, another year at Hogwarts." sighed Harry.

"Looking forward to it mate?" asked Ron.

"Yeah, some parts." replied Harry, and the rest in the compartment new what he was talking about. Harry had shared his doubts to his friends concerning the Headmaster. Hermione at first found it hard to believe, but she soon agreed that something was odd after Harry had explained his reasons behind the doubts. So while at Hogwarts they were going to try to stay out of the eye of the Headmaster.

Soon, Ginny and Hermione had pulled out books, while Harry and Ron started playing Exploding Snap. They were quite comfortable in the compartment when the door slid open and three Slytherins could be seen.

"Well if it isn't Scar head, the Weasel, the Mud blood and the little Weaselette." The three seventh years looked at Ginny, remembering the promise they had made before turning back to the Slytherins.

"Hey Malfoy." They all said before returning to what they were doing. Malfoy looked quite shocked at the greeting.

"Care to join us?" asked Ginny in a friendly manner.

"Why on earth would I want to join your mangy group." answered Malfoy in disgust.

"I don't know. Maybe you wanted some intelligent conversation for once." she said, nodding her head to Crabbe and Goyle. The other three in the compartment almost laughed, but managed to keep it in.

"Like I would get that here." snarled Malfoy, but Ginny just shrugged her shoulders.

"Suit yourself. Please shut the door on your way out." she said politely, returning to her book. Malfoy realized that for once he wasn't going to get a rise out of this compartment. The only one who had even paid any attention to him had been Weaselette.

"Screw this. You guys aren't worth the time." he said, going to leave.

"See ya later." said Ginny, which made Malfoy turn around in surprise because their was no teasing or sarcasm in her voice. He saw Granger nod her head as if to say good bye also.

"Later Malfoy." said the Weasel.

"Bye." said Potter and all Malfoy could do was stand there with his mouth slightly open at the group of Gryffindor's. Finally he seemed to snap out of it and slammed the compartment door shut and stomped to his own compartment. The four Gryffindors looked at each other and shared a smile, realizing how much their aloof attitude had bothered the Slytherin.

Down the train in their own compartment sat five Slytherins, two of which were looking at a very disgruntled Draco Malfoy.

"It just doesn't make any sense. They were civil to me. The Weaselette even asked if I wanted to join them. Said I might want some intelligent conversation." said Draco in a high squeaky voice. Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson glanced at Crabbe and Goyle, who were presently trying to thumb wrestle.

"Maybe they had a point." said Pansy, still watching the two. Malfoy just stared at her.

"You have got to be kidding me Pansy." said Malfoy in disbelief before turning to who he hoped was sane. "Please tell me you don't agree with her Blaise."

"Well…" started Blaise and Draco threw his hands up in the air. "Come on Draco. We all know that we wont be following the Dark Lord and that is all anyone in Slytherin seems to want to talk about anymore. It might nice to talk to someone that didn't have such frigid views on things."

"You're saying the bloody Gryffindors don't have frigid views. They hate Slytherins just because they are Slytherins." stated Draco.

"They did." said Pansy. "But if what you tell us is true, then they aren't anymore." Draco shut his mouth at that. It was true that conversation within Slytherin was seriously lacking topics that didn't include the Dark Lord anymore. Even quidditch was barely talked about. The behaviors' of the Gryffindors were curious though, but Draco still thought that it could be some sort of trap. He will just have to keep an eye on them. Blaise and Pansy watched Draco as he sat thinking before sharing a smile. Maybe this year will be interesting after all.

* * *

REVIEW!! THANKS SO MUCH!!


	14. Arriving at Hogwarts

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS.

FOR MY REVIEWERS - THANKS SO MUCH, I APPRECIATE IT.

AS FOR YOUR QUESTION - HARRY'S TWIN SISTER IS THE GIRL WHO LIVED. HARRY IS NOT THE BOY WHO LIVED. A LITTLE PREVIEW THAT WILL BE EXPLAINED COMPLETELY IN LATER CHAPTERS - THE REASON HARRY HAS THE CONNECTION TO VOLDEMORT IS NOT BECAUSE HE IS THE CHOSEN BUT BECAUSE OF THE DARK SPELL JAMES USED TO GIVE HARRY THE SCAR. HOPE THAT HELPS!!

* * *

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. Luna and Neville had joined them shortly after the Slytherins left, with Luna pulling out the Quibbler and Neville watching the boys play their game. When they finally arrived the six of them walked over to a carriage and each one of the kids rubbed the Thestrals as they walked by. It didn't surprise anyone in the group that they could see the creatures now. Once they reached Hogwarts, they were walking into the Great Hall when Harry accidentally ran into someone as they were going through the door. Turning around he saw that it was Pansy Parkinson.

"Oh, sorry Parkinson. Go ahead." said Harry, stepping back to let the girl through. Parkinson gave him a look of disbelief before she walked through, Malfoy and Zabini following. "Malfoy, Zabini." said Harry, nodding his head in acknowledgement. The two boys nodded their head slightly, but kept walking.

"Hey Parkinson." called out Ginny and the other girl turned around. "That invitation is for you and Zabini also." she said. Parkinson sniffed and stuck up her nose and walked away, the two boys following her.

"Well that went well." remarked Hermione dryly.

"Hey, she didn't say no, did she?" said Ginny as they made their way towards their table to sit down.

"I thought we weren't going to make friends with them?" asked Ron in confusion because it was obvious that that was what Ginny was trying to accomplish.

"I said you didn't have to. I am curious. The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin and I want to find out why." explained Ginny.

"The hat wanted to put you in Slytherin also!?" exclaimed Harry. The two girls looked surprised, Hermione because of the confession from both of her friends, while Ginny was surprised at Harry's confession. Ron meanwhile was looking incredulously at his sister, because Harry had already confided in him about his conversation with the hat.

"So, wait, both of you were almost put into Slytherin?' asked Hermione.

"Apparently." said Ginny, sharing a smile with Harry.

"My own sister." groaned Ron, but Ginny could tell he was only teasing. Soon, the first years came in and the sorting hat started singing its traditional song about dark times and unity and what each house was about. Once the sorting was over Dumbledore made his usual comments, which included banning all products from the twin's store, and then the food appeared and everyone dug in. Once it was over, Professor McGonagall came over to pass out the time cards.

"Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter, your NEWT level potions class have been added. I trust you will behave yourself in that class." reprimanded Professor McGonagall.

"Of course." chorused the boys, but Professor McGonagall just looked at them doubtfully before continuing down the table.

"Man, practically all of our classes are with the Slytherins." said Harry.

"Professor Dumbledore wants to promote house unity, that's all." said Hermione, defending the Headmaster.

"That's bullocks." said Ron. "If he wanted house unity then he would put us together when there is so much competition. All we do in class is try to show the other that we are better than them."

"Oh my goodness, Ron you are a genius!" exclaimed Hermione.

"Of course." said Ron smartly, finally getting to the point of not being embarrassed when someone compliments him.

"Please." said Ginny at her brothers response before turning to Hermione. "What idea do you have Hermione?" asked Ginny, seeing Hermione's planning face.

"I don't know yet." said Hermione, getting up from the table. "Come on Ron, we need to show the first years the way to the tower."

"Alright." said Ron reluctantly putting down what was left of his treacle tart. The two prefects led the first years up to the tower, while Ginny and Harry followed behind. Once in the common room the four relaxed before heading to bed. They were still going to train in the morning so they knew they had to get a good sleep. All four fell asleep with smiles on their faces because they knew that the professors were going to be very surprised at the improvement of the four, especially Ron.

The four met as planned behind Hagrid's hut and then went into the forest to do their training. When they finished they made their way back up to Gryffindor tower and took their showers. By the time they were out and dressed the others in their room were just starting to get out of bed.

"Bloody hell you two. What are you doing up so friggin early?" complained Dean.

"Just doing some morning exercises." replied Harry.

"Morning exercises?" said Seamus in disbelief.

"Yeah, we'll see you guys at breakfast." said Ron as he and Harry grabbed their books for their classes and headed down to the Great Hall. Not even five minutes later the girls had joined them.

"So, did you complete the idea you had last night?" asked Harry as he started to gather his breakfast.

"Yes I did." Hermione replied proudly.

"So what is it?" asked Ron already shoveling the food into his mouth.

"I am not going to say until I speak to the heads of the houses." said Hermione, determined to remain tight lipped. The four finished their breakfast as the others students entered the Great Hall trying to grab a bite before their first classes of the day.

"Well, I better get going. I have Charms first." said Ginny, getting up from the table.

"Yeah, we all have Transfiguration. We better get going, we don't want to be late." said Hermione jumping up. The boys followed her, albeit not as enthusiastically. While they did spend most of the summer studying, it had been on their own terms and neither was looking forward to sitting obediently silent in a classroom. Especially considering the fact they probably knew it all anyways.

Getting into the classroom, Hermione immediately took a seat in the front, while the boys decided to sit together behind her. Neville joined the group shortly after and decided to sit next Hermione, knowing that she could help him if he needed it. The group of Slytherins entered but none of them made any comments to the Gryffindors, but Malfoy did make sure to send a scowl their way. He still believed they were up to something.

Soon, Professor McGonagall entered and the classroom immediately got silent. She began her lesson and soon they were practicing transfiguring inanimate objects into animals. It was mainly a brush up class to find out where she was going to have to start for the year. Most of the class had achieved their task, but what had surprised her was Mr. Weasley. Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter had accomplished it quickly and while it was an improvement for Potter, it wasn't completely a shocker. Mr. Weasley had accomplished it on the first try, something that she had never seen him do with any practical lesson she had given.

"Alright. I want a three foot parchment on the theory of this transfiguration and any observations that you have had in class during the practical. Class is dismissed." she instructed. "Mr. Weasley would you please stay behind for a moment." Professor McGonagall saw the three friends share a look before Mr. Weasley sat back down in his seat while the other students, as well as Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter, emptied the classroom

"Mr. Weasley, I must say that I am very surprised by your progress in class today." commented Professor McGonagall once the classroom was empty. "Is there anything you would like to share with me?"

"If you're asking if I cheated then the answer is no." replied Ron, slightly upset at what the Professor had implied.

"I am not suggesting that at all. As a matter of fact I had been looking at you directly when you accomplished the spell. I was just curious as to how you did it, considering your apparent ability when you left last year was no where near this level." explained McGonagall, and Ron shrugged his shoulders.

"I just studied this summer is all." he replied.

"Well then you must not have studied at all the previous summers if you can become this advanced in a couple of months." commented McGonagall and Ron chuckled.

"Careful professor, that was almost a joke." he commented and watched as her lips thinned out. "Actually, there is something I would like to talk to you about. It is concerning my career options once I leave Hogwarts."

"Well, I know I made it sound impossible last year, but if you keep up with you work similar to what you did today, I don't see why you wont be able to become an Auror like you wished." remarked McGonagall, remembering what he had wanted to be.

"Well, actually, I was wondering if I could be an Auror, but have like a specialty area of study?" asked Ron, getting nervous. This was the first time that he had mentioned this idea to anyone.

"Specialty area of study?" Ron nodded at her question. "What area would that be?"

"Healing." said Ron meekly. "I kind of took an interest in it this summer."

"Hum, well Healing is a lot of work. It includes an in depth study of potions and charms to accomplish it. To your question, yes it is possible to be an Auror with a specialty in the healing field. If you're serious about it, I would suggest spending some time with Madam Pomphrey in the hospital wing." said Professor McGonagall.

"Is there anyway I could do that without anyone knowing about it?" asked Ron.

"Mr. Weasley, if healing is what you want to do then you shouldn't be ashamed about it. It will take a hundred percent effort to accomplish it and hiding in the shadows, sneaking around wont help." scolded the professor.

"It's not that I am ashamed of it. I just…It's better when people just see me as the dumb best friend." stated Ron.

"Mr. Weasley." started McGonagall, but Ron held up his hand to stop her.

"I know that's not what I am. Well not anymore. But the Death Eaters and Voldemort, they think that. When we fight, they don't try to split me and Harry up, just Hermione because they know that she can help him. They don't think I can which allows me to stay near to him. If they found out I am studying healing, they will make sure to keep us apart if anything was to happen. If I am just the dumb best friend there is nothing I can do to help him. It kind of gives us an element of surprise. Why not let them underestimate me? Do you understand?" asked Ron. McGonagall stared at him for a moment before responding.

"Yes, I understand, although I wish I didn't." she said pursing her lips. "What would you have me do?"

"I don't know. Maybe a detention of some sort." suggested Ron. Professor McGonagall thought about that.

"That could work, although I would need a valid reason to give you one." stated McGonagall.

"I am sure I could figure something out." said Ron with a mischievous grin on his face. McGonagall glared at him, knowing she would probably regret this.

"Fine Mr. Weasley. But no violence and nothing fatally harmful to you or those around you. Got it young man." lectured McGonagall.

"Absolutely." said Ron grinning. "Well, I better get going. I am already late for Charms."

"Yes, here is a pass. Run along now." dismissed McGonagall. Ron took the pass and nodded good bye before jogging out of the classroom. Professor McGonagall watched him go and when the door finally shut she let out a small smile.

* * *

PLEASE REVIEW. THIS IS MORE JUST A BACK STORY AND THE NEXT ONE WILL BE ALSO, BUT I AM PLANNING THE ONE AFTER THAT TO BE WHEN THE POTTERS ARE INTRODUCED!!!


	15. Classes

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS.

NO THIS STORY WONT END WHEN THE POTTERS APPEAR. I AM NOT FOND OF STORIES LIKE THAT. HARRY WILL FIND OUT ABOUT SEVERUS AND JAMES IN THE CHAPTER AFTER THE NEXT.

* * *

Ron ran into charms, handed his pass to the teacher and then took a seat next to Harry. Both Hermione and Harry gave him questioning looks but he just gave them a smile to let them know it was okay. During the class Ron made sure not to repeat the same mistake he made in Transfiguration, making sure to goof off and only completing the spell when class was almost over. He didn't want to draw any more attention to him.

After Charms it was time for lunch. On the way to the Great Hall, Ron had told his friends about his discussion with McGonagall, including the part about their detention agreement. Hermione protested, not believing McGonagall would allow such behavior

"So what are you going to do?" asked Harry.

"Not sure yet." said Ron with a shrug. As they were about to reach the Great Hall, Ron saw Malfoy coming and suddenly got an idea.

"Hey Ferret." he remarked, knowing he would get a reaction with the name.

"What do you want Weasel?" sneered Malfoy before continuing. "Looks like you finally figured out how to properly dress yourself. I know your muggle loving parents couldn't afford, so did Scar head realize what a charity case you really are and decide to buy you some?" remarked Malfoy, trying to get a reaction from Ron.

"At least I have friends willing to help me out. Would yours do that?" asked Ron.

"Please, like your so called friends are worth the carpet we walk on." spat out Malfoy. Seeing his opening, Ron grabbed Malfoy by the collar and shoved him up against the wall.

"Someone once told me that the people around you reflect who you are." he growled to Malfoy so that only the two of them could hear. "Seeing who you have around you." at this point, Ron nodded his head at Goyle and Crabbe to let him know who he was talking about. "It makes you wonder exactly how much better than the carpet you are yourself." It was at that moment that McGonagall came around the corner, heading for lunch.

"Mr. Weasley, let him go!!" she hollered at Ron. Everyone looked at the Professor, as Ron let Malfoy go, surprised at her presence. "I have had enough of this. Detention, Mr. Weasley! Now until Christmas holidays with Madam Pomphrey in the Hospital Wing. Maybe that will get you to control yourself." ordered McGonagall before marching into the Great Hall.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in potions Malfoy." said Ron before walking off with Hermione and Harry as if nothing had just happened, leaving behind a very confused Malfoy.

"Was that set up?" asked Harry.

"No that was just good timing. I knew she should be coming by for lunch, I just wasn't sure when." said Ron with a shrug.

"But Ron, that couldn't have been anyone of the Professors. What if it was Professor Snape?" accused Hermione.

"Then we would have lost points and I would of got detention. Come on Hermione, its not like its anything new." remarked Ron, him and Harry taking a seat at the Gryffindor table. Hermione gave Ron a disapproving look before sitting down as well.

"I still don't like it." commented Hermione, wanting the last disapproving word.

Over at the Slytherin table Draco Malfoy watched the Golden Trio, still thoroughly confused.

"I'm telling you it doesn't make any sense." commented Draco. Blaise and Pansy, who were sitting across from him while Crabbe and Goyle sat on each side of him, rolled there eyes.

"Draco, I don't know why you are making a big deal out of this." replied Pansy.

"She right. I mean they are civil to you and you think they are up to something. The Weasel tries to start a fight with you and you thing they are up to something." observed Blaise.

"I am telling you this time the Weasel was different. It wasn't like the usual fights he picks. Potter and Granger didn't even try to stop him. They didn't say anything, that is not like them." argued Draco.

"Draco, you really need to think about this absession you seem to have with the Golden Trio, or Quartet, what ever it is that are calling themselves now that the little Weaselette has joined their group."

"Maybe." said Draco, chewing his food thoughtfully. Pushing his plate away he stood up.

"Where are we going?" asked Goyle starting to get up as well.

"_We _are not going anywhere. _I _am going to head to Potions early. I want to talk to Professor Snape." said Draco.

"Oh." said Goyle sitting back down and starting to shovel food into his face again. Blaise and Pansy just rolled their eyes at their friend as he walked away. Draco walked quickly to the Potions classroom, knowing that Severus would be there getting ready for his NEWT level class. Knocking briskly on the door, he heard a 'come in.' When he entered, he saw Severus gave a curious look.

"Draco, you're early."

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something." said Draco. "It's about those Gryffindors. Have you noticed them acting weird?"

"Weird? As in…" asked Severus, wanting to know what Draco's point was.

"Just weird. Like on the train, the girl Weasel asked if I wanted to join them for intelligent conversation. Then she did the same thing to Pansy and Blaise. Then, the Weasel actually did his transfiguration spell right on the first try. And Potter hasn't said one thing about my father being a Death Eater. Then, right before lunch, I run into them and we have a…confrontation and he doesn't react the way he was supposed to." explained Draco in frustration.

"And he was supposed to react…how?" asked Severus in an amused voice, which only made Draco upset.

"Don't mock me Severus. I have made it my mission for the last five years to torture those three. I know what words get what reaction. I know when to confront them based on the moods they are in. I know those three like the back of my hands. I said something about the Weasel's family being poor and something about Potter thinking he is a charity case. Usually that would get him so red that he would look like a tomato and his friends would have to hold him back so he didn't punch me. But no. All he did was shove me up against the wall, saying something like people judge me based on who I have around me and since Goyle and Crabbe are always there, then I must be dumb like them." ranted Draco almost in one full breathe.

"Well, as much as I hate to admit it, he does have a point. Why you let those idiots follow you is beyond me." remarked Severus.

"Severus that is not the point. When has the Weasel ever said anything smart? Especially when he is supposed to be mad? And then McGonagall comes and gives the Weasel detention from now until Christmas Holidays in the Hospital Wing, and Potter and Granger and the Weasel's sister didn't say anything. They didn't even accuse me of starting the fight."

"Which you did do." said Severus.

"Severus, you are missing the point. I am telling you something is going on with those Gryffindors. I know it."

"Are you sure you're just not over reacting."

"No I am not. I already told you, I know their reactions like the back of my hands, especially the Weasels…"

"And why do you know that? Are you sure you're not obsessed with Weasley for a completely different reason?" said Severus suggestively.

"Please, not everyone bats for the same team you do." quipped Draco.

"If you say so. Anyways, now that you mentioned Weasley, I am glad that you came early. There is something that I would like you to do during the next class. I am going to assign partners and you will be paired with Weasley. I want you to mess up the potion once and only once." instructed Severus.

"Why? Wont he do that himself? I don't even know how he made it into your NEWT level potions." said Draco.

"Just do as I said. I need to see something. Now take your seat, the other students will be arriving soon." ordered Severus and Draco took his usual seat at the front of the class. Soon the other Slytherins arrived and Crabbe and Goyle sat down on either side of him. Draco looked at both in disgust before standing up and walking to the back of the room and sitting down at the same table as Blaise and Pansy. Crabbe and Goyle had went to follow but when they had seen that there were no more seats available they just returned to their original seats. Blaise and Pansy raised their eyebrows at him, aware that he usually didn't sit away from the two and wondered if the Weasels words had anything to do with it.

"Not one word you two." Draco ordered, knowing just what they were thinking. Soon the rest of the students arrived and class was ready to start.

"Today we will be working in pairs." said Severus getting right to the point. "I will be assigning them and their will be no switching. Zabini and Potter, Parkinson and Granger, Weasley and Malfoy…" read off Severus, continuing with the list. Draco moved to the front of the class room to the empty table and Weasley soon joined him, setting down his stuff.

"Hey Malfoy." he said indifferently, like he wasn't talking to his nemesis of the last five years.

"Weasel." remarked Malfoy and then turned to the front of the classroom as Severus started writing the potion and the instructions on the board. Draco looked over at the Weasel to see him already pulling out the ingredients needed for the potion. When the Weasel placed an ingredients on the desk that wasn't on the list he elbowed the Weasel.

"Hey, that's not on the list." he snapped. Draco watched as the Weasel looked over the list on board and that was when he realized that the Weasel hadn't looked at the list originally.

"Well it should be. It is the only thing that counter acts the violent reaction of the red root." explained Ron, nonchalantly. Draco looked at Severus, who had been watching the two and had heard the exchange. Draco watched Severus read the stuff on the board before calmly adding the ingredient that the Weasel had mentioned. Draco raised his eyebrows at this, but didn't make a comment.

He had expected an 'I told you so' from the Weasel, but he just continued working with the ingredients, so Draco prepared the cauldron for the potion. He started to tell the Weasel what ingredient he needed first, but the Weasel was already handing it to him. As the potion progressed Draco was starting to feel disconcerted with the fact that whenever he started to tell the Weasel to do something he had already done it. As a matter of fact the Weasel had not done one thing wrong with the potion. Remembering what Severus had asked him to do, Draco grabbed an ingredient and tossed it into the potion, causing it to immediately start to boil dangerously.

"Bugger! Malfoy! Are you stupid? Are you trying to blow yourself up?" hollered the Weasel as he reached into his bag and pulled out an ingredient and tossed it in to the cauldron causing the potion to be calm once again. "Man, now you have to crush ginger root and add it the potion to counter act the alfalfa root."

"Me?" asked Draco in disbelief.

"Yes _you_, since _you_ were the one that almost made it explode in the first place." said the Weasel handing the alfalfa root to Draco. Draco looked in disbelief as the Weasel continued with the potion. He looked up at Severus and Draco could see the calculating look on his godfather's face. He looked at the Weasel one last time before crushing the ginger root. The Weasel knew potions? What the heck was going on this year?

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PLEASE REVIEW! THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE A BIT LONGER BUT IT ENDS THE BACK STORY AND THEN THE GOOD STUFF COMES!!!


	16. Unity Among Houses

DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS.

TO MY READERS: I PROMISED THIS WOULD BE THE LAST BACK STORY CHAPTER AND I WANTED TO KEEP THAT PROMISE, WHICH IS WHY THIS ONE IS SO LONG.

* * *

It was later that evening when Hermione met with the Heads of the Houses. She explained her plan to them in great detail, including her idea to have a big kick off at the end of the week. Finally she quieted down and eagerly looked at the Professors.

"Let me get this straight. You want us to approve a party at the end of the week?" asked McGonagall doubtfully.

"Not necessarily a party, more of a study group kick off of sorts. It will give the students the opportunity to stop by and see what it is all about and ask questions if necessary. The refreshments is an idea because I know some that would come just for the food." the professors stared at her silently, so Hermione gave it one more shot before she would give up. "Think about how many students do their studying in their common rooms. It has a more comfortable atmosphere than the library, but it also secludes the houses more. We would have a room that would act as a common room for the school as a whole, but with no certain house represented. Refreshments would be a draw for some of the students." she said quieckly. Again the professors were silent.

"Okay" agreed the Heads of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses. Hermione smiled at the approval of two of the Heads.

"Please professor." she begged, looking at McGonagall. "A friend made the comment about how were we supposed to build unity between the houses when the only time we are together is in an environment where we compete. This would take away the competition."

"Fine." replied McGonagall, pursing her lips. "But this kick off better not get out of hand or the idea stops there."

"Okay, professor, I promise." said Hermione excitedly before turning to Professor Snape. "What do you say Professor Snape. The idea will be pointless without the Slytherin house as well." Snape glared at her silently, considering his options. Draco may have been right about the attitudes of the Gryffindors changing, considering Granger wanted to have the Slytherins there.

"I'll agree, but I will not guarantee the participation of the Slytherin House. I will not force them to go." he told the girl.

"Okay! Thanks professors!" said Hermione excitedly. "I already have the posters made. I will post them right away. This is great." Finally, she ran from the room to get everything done.

"Well, that was odd." commented Professor Flitwick.

"Yes, it was." said McGonagall staring at the door that Ms. Granger had left from, feeling pride well up inside her.

Soon the news of a party was all around the school, but Hermione tried to remind everyone that it wasn't a party but a kick off for a study common room. Soon she gave up and Harry and Ron tried to tell her that the more people who thought it was a party the more that would come. Soon it was the end of the week and Harry, Ginny and Ron were helping Hermione set up for her big common room kick off.

They hung up a banner of each house and a Hogwarts banner. They tried not to add to much color other than natural browns and creams so as not to place favor with any certain house. They had even included three different fireplaces to provide comfort all around the room. Dobby brought the refreshments from the kitchen and Hermione put a spell on the drinks to make sure that no tried to add alcohol.

"I think that's it." commented Hermione sitting down on one of the couches.

"Nope." said Ron coming in and dropping a bunch of boxes on to one of the tables. "But now it is." The three other Gryffindors came to look at what he brought and saw various games, such as chess and exploding snap.

"Ron, we don't want competition." scolded Hermione.

"Well, I know that, but we don't want to be bored either." commented Ron.

"It's true Hermione, how many times have we taken a break from studying to play a quick game." added Harry.

"Plus, we aren't making anyone play the games, it's just an option to relax. There is such a thing as friendly competition." ended Ginny. Hermione huffed.

"Fine, but if they turn into an issue than I am taking them away." she said. Soon, the room started to fill. Mostly Gryffindors at first, but then some Ravenclaw and some hesitant Hufflepuffs. Within the hour, the room was getting full and Hermione was happy to notice that the students weren't just sticking with their housemates, but they were intermingling with each other.

"Well this turned out good." remarked Ginny.

"Yeah, but none of the Slytherins showed up." remarked Hermione in disappointment. Throughout the week the Slytherins and Gryffindors had had little disputes, so Hermione had hoped they were starting to mend those burned bridges.

"I wouldn't be to sure of that." remarked Harry, nodding his head to the door. There standing just inside the room was Malfoy, Zabini and Parkinson, with Crabbe and Goyle lagging behind them slightly. Hermione grinned and then started making way through the crowd to other students. She knew that going up and trying to engage the Slytherins was a bit much, she was just happy that they showed up at all.

The students started leaving right before curfew and Dobby popped up to let the Gryffindors know that he would clean up. They thanked him before returning to the tower to go to sleep. The following Monday, after all their classes the three made their way to the study common room to find that a few students from other houses already occupied it. Hermione grinned proudly before taking a seat at one of the tables, the others following and taking out their homework.

Soon, the four saw the Slytherins walk in. Crabbe and Goyle immediately sat down and started playing exploding snap. They watched as the other three Slytherins scanned the crowd. Finally Blaise Zabini's gaze landed at them. He looked at them for a moment before walking towards them. Malfoy looked at Parkinson with shock on his face, but all she did was shrug her shoulders and followed him. Malfoy grumbled before following as well.

"I was wondering if the offer still stands?" asked Blaise as they reached the table, looking at Ginny.

"Of course." she said smiling, and the four made room for the three Slytherins. Once everyone was settled the seven started on their homework, occasionally asking each other for help. This had only started when Harry had asked Malfoy a question about charms. It amazed those at the table how easily they seemed to interact.

A couple of days later, Pansy was having an issue with her Herbology homework. The others didn't know the subject very well, so Ginny had recommended that she talk to Neville.

"Longbottom? You're kidding me." said Pansy in disbelief.

"Actually she isn't." said Harry. "He even has a section of the green house that he keeps his own plants in." Everyone watched as Pansy found Neville in the groups surrounding the common room only to find him watering one of the plants on the window sill. Slowly she drummed her fingers in thought and then suddenly stood up and walked over to Neville. The others at the table watched the shock cross Neville's face as Pansy reached him and then confusion, which they took as Pansy asking for his help. They watched them converse for a little bit before Pansy grabbed a hold of his arm and dragged him out the room.

"So you think she is going to have her way with him?" said Ron with humor.

"Parkinson and Longbottom? Ew. Never in a million years." said Draco with disgust. But much the everyone's amusement and Draco's utter disbelief, Pansy and Neville started spending quite bit of time with each other. They would partner up in classes and often study together in the common room, sometimes with the others but often by themselves. Gossip was started, or rather made bigger because the gossip had originally started when the three Slytherins had joined the Gryffindors in the common room, about Slytherins and Gryffindors getting together. While many of students from those houses scoffed at the idea, they weren't aware that it was true.

During the months that followed the start of school, Ron made sure to go to the Hospital Wing whenever he wasn't in class, studying or practicing/or playing Quidditch. Madam Pomphrey had at first just set him to cleaning and straightening the beds, but after about a week Ron had gotten up the nerve to start asking her questions.

At first, Madam Pomphrey had answered without much thought, but once she noticed that the questions kept on coming and Mr. Weasley didn't seem at all upset at spending his spare time in the Hospital Wing, she realized that he was not just here for the detention. From then on, she made sure to include him whenever she was dealing with a patient, explaining why she was doing what she was doing.

Soon, whenever a student came in, Mr. Weasley would already have their problem figured out and the medicine needed waiting for her. He would even make sure that her supplies were full. Poppy was very impressed with how fast he seemed to be catching on and as much as she wanted to ask about it, she held back on finding out why he wanted to learn all of this. She had noticed that when other students came around he would act like it was just another detention and figured their was a reason for it.

But the real surprise came when Draco Malfoy had came into the Hospital Wing after a bad crash during the Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch game. Apparently, Potter had barely gotten his hand around the snitch before Malfoy, allowing Gryffindor to win the game. After Severus had brought the boy in and set him on the cot, she had noticed Mr. Malfoy had several broken bones and numerous bruises. Turning to shoo everyone out of the Hospital Wing, she was surprised to find that not only were there Slytherins there, but Gryffindors as well.

"Alright out, I need to help my patient." she ordered.

"Alright, see you later Malfoy. Good game." said Mr. Potter.

"Next time Potter, just you wait." muttered Malfoy, holding his arm. Madam Pomphrey was surprised at the lack of malice from the two, but she had noticed that there had been a lot less trips to the Hospital Wing due to fights between houses. Everyone left the Hospital Wing, except for Mr. Weasley who was gathering the things she would need to tend to Mr. Malfoy.

"Thank you Mr. Weasley, now go change. You are no help being as dirty as you are." she ordered.

"Yes ma'am, I will be right back." he said before running out of the Hospital Wing. By the time he returned, Poppy had already healed everything and had given him a dreamless sleep potion. Mr. Weasley looked and Mr. Malfoy silently, noticing that even though he was sleeping he seemed to be shifting uncomfortably in his sleep.

"Why does he seem so restless?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"It's his muscles. I have tended to his wounds, but he will be extremely sore for the next couple of days. A muscle relaxation potion would help, but he wouldn't be able to move much due to the fact all his muscles will feel like jelly." explained Poppy.

"Why don't you try this." said Mr. Weasley, handing her a vial of what looked to be some sort of cream. "It is something I came up with this summer. Harry and I use it after Quidditch on our muscles. We have used it repeatedly for the last four months and so far no side effects have come up." he explained, handing her the cream.

"Something you came up with? On your own? Mr. Weasley, you can't expect me to apply a cream on student that was created by another student." said Poppy in disbelief, still holding the cream.

"Well, if you don't want to its up to you. I understand why you wouldn't want to. But like I said, Harry and I have used it repeatedly. Well, I better get going, they are expecting me at the victory party in the study common room. I will see you tomorrow Madam Pomphrey." said Ron, walking out of the Hospital Wing with a wave.

Madam Pomphrey watched him go before setting the vial he had given her on her desk and attending to other tasks that needed to get done. After an hour she realized that Mr. Malfoy wasn't getting any restful sleep because of how sore his muscles seemed to be, causing him to constantly shift in his sleep. Madam Pomphrey sat at her desk, eyeing the vial that Mr. Weasley had left, contemplating. He hadn't given her any reason to doubt his judgment and he had stated that he had used it multiple times. Again, Poppy looked at Mr. Malfoy; she hated seeing one of her patients so uncomfortable.

Finally making up her mind, she grabbed the vial and walked over to Mr. Malfoy. Pulling back the covers , she applies some to his right leg which had appeared to be bothering her patient the most. Almost immediately Mr. Malfoy stopped moving his leg. Seeing this as a good sign, she applies more of the cream to the rest of the limbs of her patient and then stepped back to watch as her Mr. Malfoy turned onto his side and go into a deep sleep. Apparently, the cream worked just as Mr. Weasley had said it would.

Immediately she went to her fire place and fire called Severus and asked him to come up to the Hospital Wing. When he arrived he went straight to Mr. Malfoys bed.

"Is he alright?" asked Severus in concern.

"Yes, he will be fine. A few broken bones and some sore muscles but that is all." calmed Poppy.

"Then why is it you need to see me?" asked Severus.

"Take a look at this and tell me what you think." instructed Poppy, holding the vial out to Severus. He raised his eyebrow at her, but took the vial and studied it.

"It's a cream obviously." he stated, thinking out loud before he sniffed it. "Smells like a cross between a muscle relaxation potion and nourishment potion. Where did you get it?" asked Severus, curious because I hadn't seen something like this before.

"Mr. Weasley gave it to me when he realized how sore Mr. Malfoy would be. Said it was something he _came up with_ during the summer." explained Poppy.

"He honestly expected you to use some experimental cream on one of your students?" said Severus in disbelief.

"I did." she said and at Severus' look of outrage she added "and it worked."

"Your kidding me? Something a sixteen year old boy invented." remarked Severus.

"Try it. Put some on the back of your neck. I know it gets sore marking essays. Go on." urged Poppy. Severus glance at Draco and saw that he didn't seem to be effected by the potion not yet anyway. Finally he took some on spread it on the back of his neck and instantly felt relief.

"You have got to be kidding me." he said in disbelief.

"That's what I thought." said Poppy.

"While I am here, do you need any supplies replenished?" asked Severus offhandedly, thinking about what Mr. Weasley seemed to have accomplished.

"No thanks. We are still good from the supply you gave us last week." dismissed Poppy with a wave of her hand.

But I didn't give you any potions last week. As a matter of fact, the last time I gave you anything was at the beginning of the school year." remarked Severus.

"Then where has Mr. Weasley gotten all the potions he brings to stock my shelves?" asked Poppy, and then her eyes got round as she realized the truth. "No way. Absolutely no way has Mr. Weasley been stocking my shelves with potions he has made."

"Well it appears that way. How could you be stupid enough to let that happen? Who knows would could have happen." snapped Severus, angry not only at the medi-witch but also at himself. He should have caught on that he hadn't received any request from the Hospital Wing.

"Don't get snappy with me Severus. You know I would not have given those potions to any of my patients if I saw something wrong with them. Those potions were perfect, nothing different from the ones that I usually get from you." snapped Poppy. Severus got quite, knowing that what she said was true. She would have been able to see if something was wrong with the potions before she gave them to any of her patients.

"You mind if I take this?" asked Severus, holding up the vial of cream.

"No, go ahead, just bring it back. If Mr. Weasley hadn't told you about it yet, then I doubt he wanted many to know. Plus it could be useful to have in stock."

"I will have it back in the morning." said Severus already getting an idea in his head. It seems Mr. Weasley was just one surprise after another.

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PLEASE REVIEW. I PROMISE THE STORY PICKS UP IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	17. Snape Revealed

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTE CHARACTERS.

HERE IS SOME OF THE GOOD STUFF. HOPE YOU ENJOY.

* * *

Shortly after the Slytherin/Gryffindor Quidditch match it was the holidays. While many had decided to go home, the four Gryffindors had decided to stay at Hogwarts. Pansy and Blaise had gone home as well, but Draco had decided to stay. As it turned out, they all ended up spending most of their time in the study common room.

Into the first weekend of the holiday, Harry had decided to take a quick nap on the couch in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. It was relatively empty, the only students that had stayed for the holidays were just a couple of first years and they had already retired to their dorm room. Ron and Hermione were sitting at one of the tables in the corner, each reading books, Ron taking a break from potions and reading a book on chess. Suddenly Hermione and Ron looked up as they heard Harry start to fight in his sleep. Suddenly he sat up.

"Snape!" he said in alarm.

"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Hermione, rushing to Harry with Ron right behind her.

"It's Snape." gasped Harry. "Voldemort knows he is the spy. He tortured him pretty badly and then apparated him away. Says he wants to send a message to Dumbledore. That's when I woke up. I think Voldemort sent him to the apparation wards outside of Hogwarts. He was still able to move, but just barely. I need to go see if he made it to his quarters." said Harry, jumping up and running up to their room so that he could grab his invisibility cloak. When he ran back to the common room, Hermione and Ron were sitting on the couch and they turned to face him when they heard him come down.

"I'll be back." he told them in rush.'

"Ok." said Hermione.

"Call me when you need me." said Ron and Harry nodded his head before running out of the common room.

"I better get some of my healing things together." said Ron and then jogged up to his own room. Hermione watched her friends go and despite the circumstances she couldn't help but smile. There was no way that last year her friends would have reacted the way they just had to Snape being injured. Harry, possibly but with not as much determination or concern. Ron would have grumbled, saying Snape would be alright. Now though he was up in his room preparing to treat Snape without even being asked.

Harry ran down the corridors until he reached the dungeons. Pulling out his map, he looked for Snape's name, not sure exactly where his quarters were or if had even made it to them. Quickly he spotted his professor in the potions classroom. The name was moving extremely slow across the room but Harry couldn't help but be glad that it was moving at all. Harry ran to the door to the potions classroom and tried the knob but it was locked. He knocked briskly and prayed that Snape would answer.

When he heard the knock on the door, Severus stopped in his tracks. He had just gotten here and he didn't think that the Headmaster would be calling on him this late. If it was the Headmaster he really didn't feel like explaining about the events that had occurred. But Severus couldn't help but wonder if it was a student, or even Draco, that needed him. He had never turned his back on Draco and he knew he wouldn't be able to do it now without knowing who it was.

Limping over to the door, he pulled himself up straight so that he didn't give away his current condition and pulled open the door. Surprised barely described what he felt at seeing absolutely nothing outside his door. He looked down the hallway thinking that he had taken so long to answer that someone might have started to walk away, but he still didn't see anybody.

Finally he gave up and was about to shut the door when he heard someone say his name softly and he thought he recognized the voice. Looking around again, he didn't see anybody, but then the sound of the voice clicked. Slowly he walked out into the hallway leaving the door to his classroom open and again looked around before walking slowly back into his classroom and shut the door.

"Alright Potter, come out." he said, leaning against his the door he had just shut. Harry Potter suddenly appeared in his classroom.

"Professor, you need to lie down." he said right away. Severus glared at the boy but realized he didn't have the energy to argue with him.

"Fine." he snapped before walking across the room. About halfway across he stumbled as the wound on his leg made it give out. Harry suddenly noticed that the leg was soaked in blood and so he rushed over to his professor.

"Here, let me help. Where are your quarters?" asked Harry. Severus glared at him again before nodding towards a door in the far corner of his classroom. As Harry led his professor to the door, he discreetly pressed the lion emblem on his wristband. When they reached the door, Snape pulled out his wand and tapped it against the door causing the door to open. Harry walked him into the room and Snape nodded to another door across the room, which Harry assumed to be the bedroom.

When they entered the bedroom, Severus felt Potter lead him to his bed before laying him down. As Potter was pulling away, he felt him pause. Looking up at him, Severus saw him looking at the picture frame on his bedside table. Severus glanced at the picture and then back at Potter, but the boy had already looked away and seemed to be examining his leg wound.

"That's pretty bad. Let me start on the smaller wounds." said Potter, pulling out his wand and muttering healing charms on various parts of Severus' body.

"Since when have you known healing charms." muttered Severus, unable to sound as snide as he would've liked. Potter chuckled at him before answering.

"Well, we figured with the situations I get myself into I should probably know the basics." commented Potter. Potter suddenly stopped what he was doing and looked at his wristband. "I will be right back." he said quickly before leaving the room. Severus sighed, laying in his bed, trying not the think about his wounds. He knew he should get up and finish tending to them or a least take some healing potions, but he couldn't get his body to respond.

After a few moments, Severus could hear someone in the next room. A couple seconds later he watched as Potter walked through the door, but what surprised him was that Weasley was right behind him. Potter walked up to the bed, but didn't take his previous position to continue with the healing charms. Instead Severus watched as Weasley walked over to his leg and pulled the material away from it.

"This is bad." he muttered. Weasley looked up at him and Severus could see the boys eyes slide over to the picture just as Potters did, before looking him in the eyes. "This will hurt professor, but bare with me." Severus couldn't help but snort in disbelief, but he didn't stop the boy. He knew he had been helping out in the Hospital Wing these last couple of months, not to mention the balm he had created. Knowing that he had this knowledge was the only reason Severus didn't curse him right at that moment. Well that and the fact that he didn't think he had the energy to curse anybody right now.

Severus watched as Weasley pushed his fingers into his leg wound. Hurt was an understatement as to what he was feeling, but Severus clenched his teeth, his eyes never leaving the boy. Suddenly he felt fingers around his calf muscle and a white light came from where Weasley had his hand in his leg. Severus wasn't stupid, he had a very good idea as to what was happening in that moment. What surprised him was that Weasley had not told anybody about this ability. Suddenly Weasley pulled his hand back and the pain from him leg was gone and all that was left was a dull throb. Weasley then examined and healed the rest of his wounds, quite a bit faster than Potter was had done it. It was soon after that he stood up and walked over to his bedside table.

"I know you are aware of when to take these. Harry, make sure that he takes this one." instructed Weasley, pointing to one of the vials, "in about four or five hours. Just call me if you need anything else." Potter nodded his head in agreement and then Weasley turned to me. "Professor, take care. I will see how you're doing tomorrow." With that said, Weasley walked out of the room.

The room was silent after his departure with Potter studying him, while Severus just stared off into space.

"Go ahead and ask. If you want any answers I might actually give them with as exhausted as I am." Severus said in resignation, finally looking at the boy. Potter just stared at him for a few moments before actually saying anything.

"Alright, why don't we start with this question first. Why is there a picture on your bedside table of my father and you? And why is it that you two look extremely comfortable kissing each other?" asked Potter in an extremely calm voice.

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PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	18. The Truth and Explanations

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS.

THERE IS MENTION OF MPREG SO YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

* * *

"Probably because by the time that picture was taken we had done it quite often." remarked Severus as condescending as he could, although, he knew with the way he was feeling it wasn't that effective.

"Ha ha." said Harry, glad that at least Severus was trying to be his old self. "When did it start?"

"It?" asked Severus, determined not to make this easy for him, thinking that Harry might have a hard time accepting the fact that Severus had been with his father.

"Your relationship." said Harry simply. Severus sighed, okay maybe it wasn't to difficult.

"Shortly after the winter holidays in our sixth year."

"When did it stop?" he asked.

"The night the Dark Lord killed him." said Severus, his voice devoid of any emotion, but that statement had just raised a thousand more questions in Harry's mind. As he thought them over, he noticed that Severus' eyes started to droop, the nights events obviously taking a toll on him, so he decided to take it easy on him.

"Who knew about you two?" he asked, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"Well, Black of course and Lupin. Also Luscius, Narcissa and Bellatrix. Oh and eventually, Lilly Evans and Dumbledore."

"What did Sirius think about you two?" asked Harry, knowing how Sirius was, or had been. Severus actually chuckled at the question.

"He thought I had put James under a spell of course. Kept on taking him to Poppy saying something was wrong." explained Severus. "But eventually he got over it. Lupin just accepted it from the beginning, if he had any doubts then he didn't mention them."

"And the others?" asked Harry, curious.

"They accepted my decision, even if they didn't understand it." said Severus, and Harry still found it hard to believe, especially when it came to Bellatrix.

"Alright, well I need to let you rest a bit or Ron will kill me." said Harry and then thought a minute. "I have so many questions that I don't even know where to start. Can you tell me something that I should know, since I might not ask it?" asked Harry, and he could see Severus thinking deeply about something.

"Lilly Potter didn't give birth to you." said Severus, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Then who did?" asked Harry in confusion.

"James." said Severus simply, no longer fighting with his eyes and letting them drop, but Harry could tell he wasn't asleep yet.

"Then who was my other parent?" asked Harry, although a part of him thought he already knew the answer. Severus barely cracked an eye to look at Harry and then shut it again.

"Me." Severus said weakly. Harry stared in shock at his potions professor, or if what Severus had said was true, then his father. Talk about a million more questions coming up. By the time Harry got a hold of himself he realized that Severus' breathing had evened out, and he was sleeping soundly. Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable. It was going to be a long night and he wasn't leaving here till he got the whole story.

It was early morning when Severus finally started to wake up again. Opening his eyes he looked around the room to find it empty. Sighing he closed his eyes again. He should have known Potter wouldn't stay around. But just as that thought crossed his mind, Severus heard footsteps enter his room. Opening his eyes again, he watched as Potter walked straight up to the bed.

"Good your awake." said Potter. "Ron, just left. He said to give you these." he instructed, handing Severus several vials to drink from. "I need you as comfortable as possible so we can continue the discussion from last night." Severus raised his eyebrows at the boy. The only other option, other than leaving and completely ignoring anything Severus had said the previous night, that he had considered as a reaction from the boy was outright denial and yelling. Not this calm demeanor that wanted to casually continue the conversation.

"Well, if you want me comfortable then I suggest letting me use the bathroom." replied Severus, getting the bite back in his tone.

"Oh, of course. Ron would kill me if you soiled yourself while I was here. But first he wanted me to give you this and tell you to put in on your legs and arms before you try to get up." said Potter, handing Severus a vial, with what Severus recognized as the muscle cream he had given Poppy.

"Well, he's turned into quite the healer, hasn't he." remarked Severus sarcastically, taking the vial and starting to apply it.

"I am sure he would be happy to hear you say that." replied Harry and Severus gave him a look.

"Who said I meant it as a compliment?" sniped Severus.

"You said turned into, not trying to be, which implies he's accomplished it." said Harry simply. Severus sent him a glare before getting up and going to the bathroom. The truth was that Mr. Weasley had done as well of a job as Poppy or himself would have done. Severus was feeling amazingly well, considering what he had gone through at the hands of the Dark Lord last night. Returning to his quarters after relieving himself and making himself more presentable, Severus saw that Harry had moved from his bedroom to his living room and was placing a tray of finger sandwiches and some broth on the table.

"Ron said to make sure you at a little bit. He had Dobby bring this up, said it wouldn't be to heavy on your stomach." explained Harry before taking a seat across from where the tray was sat. Severus raised his eyebrows at this. Mr. Weasley seemed to take this quite seriously, which Severus was extremely grateful for, he just hadn't expected it out of the boy.

Severus sat down at the table and slowly consumed what was in front of him. All the while, Harry watched his every move. Severus didn't know if it was because Mr. Weasley had wanted Harry to tell him what he ate or if he was waiting his turn to ask questions. Finally, Severus pushed away the tray and looked at the boy.

"Well let me have. Come on. Yell at me for telling such lies. There is absolutely no way what I said could be true." said Severus with a sigh, expecting an outburst from the boy.

"Were they?" asked Harry calmly.

"Where what, what?" snapped Severus, this calm demeanor was throwing off Severus completely.

"Where they lies, what you told me last night?"

"What do you think?" at Severus' question, a thoughtful look crossed Harry's face.

"You know, if it had been any other time other than last night, even this morning, I would have to say I didn't know. You are an extremely good liar when you need to be. But last night…last night you were telling me the truth." stated Harry giving Severus a penetrating gaze. "Now I would like to hear the story behind the facts. I want to hear what I should already know." said Harry, finally having some anger show up in his voice. Severus couldn't help but wonder if it was directed at him or at the fact that once again he hadn't been told the whole truth about his life.

"Your father and I started seeing each other in the middle of our sixth year. We kept it discreet because we knew how the school would react, the rivalry that had existed between us, the fact that Slytherin and Gryffindor relationships were unheard of. Of course, James wanted to tell Lupin and Black and we already discussed how that went, same as with my acquaintances." Harry nodded his head at this.

"I know I didn't know my father…or should I say my other father, but you said that you two were together up until Voldemort killed my dad. I find it hard to believe that he would agree with you being a death eater." said Harry.

"He didn't and neither did I." said Severus.

"Then why did you become one?" asked Harry, again pulling up his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and setting his chin in his knees.

"I hadn't planned it." snapped Severus defensively, before explaining. "Dumbledore had heard that Voldermort was showing interesting in me, my extensive knowledge in potions was appealing to the Dark Lord. When I was approached to attend a meeting at the beginning of seventh year, I had originally said no. But Dumbledore had asked me to go to find out what I could about his followers or any potential followers that the Dark Lord was trying to get to join from Hogwarts. James said I should. He thought it was a grand trick on the Dark Lord. So I went."

"What happened?" asked Harry quietly.

"The Dark Lord made all the attended that night join. Those that refused were given the crustaceous until they agreed. I was given it six times, each time longer than the next. Finally I gave in. It was not my most proudest moment. When it was over, I went back to Hogwarts. James had met me at the entrance hall, and I had passed out right when I made it up to him. He then took me straight to Poppy. He saw the mark before I had a chance to tell him about it. When I woke up he wasn't there, but I knew he had to have known. Finally that evening he came back. I could tell he was upset, but he just sat down next to the bed and asked me to explain. His face was blank, I had no idea what was going in his head. Very much like you had done this morning." Harry couldn't help but let out small smile at the comparison. "I told him what had happened. He stayed silent for about five minutes before telling me that we would figure something out. We went to Dumbledore again and that was when the Headmaster gave the idea to become a spy."

Severus got up from his seat and walked over to his mantle to stare into the fire. He then threw in some floo powder and called the kitchen. When Dobby's face appeared, he asked for some tea. Severus came and sat down and soon Dobby popped into the room with a tray of tea and set it on the table before disappearing with a pop again. Harry gave Severus this time, as it was obvious that he needed a break. Finally, Severus finished his cup of tea and turned to Harry again.

"Like I said before. James enjoyed the thought of me being a spy. I wasn't to sure of the idea and the way everything had happened was making me on edge. I would never had been at that meeting in the first place if Dumbledore hadn't made me go. Finally, he talked me into it and we told Dumbledore we agreed. Later that evening I told my friends what had happened. They said I was foolish, and I couldn't help but agree with them. I thought after that night it wouldn't be brought up again. But the next time the Dark Lord called us, Luscius, Narcissa and Bellatrix were presented to join also, but they did so without a fight. When we returned to Hogwarts, I asked them what had gotten into them. They just gave me a look and Luscius asked if I honestly expected them to let me do this by myself. This time it was I who thought them foolish. We had decided to not share this information with Dumbledore though, being the Slytherins that they are, they had grown suspicious of the Headmaster as well."

Harry nodded his head in understanding. "I know what you mean. It is why the four of us haven't told Dumbledore about any of the progress we have made this summer." stated Harry.

"Is that also why Ms. Granger came to the Heads instead of the Headmaster about her idea earlier in the year?" asked Severus, for he had questioned this at the time.

"Yeah it was." said Harry without any further explanation. Severus nodded his head slowly, thinking about where to start his story again, but Harry asked a question before he could. "If you never really worked for Voldemort, then why did you tell him about the prophecy you overheard?"

"I never told about the prophecy. Why would I when I knew it would include my…you?" asked Severus, stumbling over what to exactly call him..

"Dumbledore had me believing that you had informed Voldemort of the prophecy and it was only after the fact that you came to our side." explained Harry.

"If there is one thing that I have learned, it is that Dumbledore can be highly manipulative when he wishes." said Severus, and Harry nodded his head realizing this.

"So where does Lilly Evans fit into all this?" asked Harry, as this was one aspect of the story that he really didn't understand.

"Ah, Lilly Evans. Well she was a prime example of manipulation. Apparently, the reason she had turned your father down for so many years was that she enjoyed the chase. When we had got together, he stopped pursuing her so she tried to go after him. It was sickening really. But both James and I believed it had something to do with him getting Head Boy."

"Why do you say that?" asked Harry.

"A lot of people thought that your father and Evans would make a great couple. Dumbledore was one of them. The Head Boy privilege should have gone to Lupin, it was what the whole school was expecting. But since it was also a given that Evans would be given Head Girl, it was James who got it instead." explained Severus and Harry nodded his head in understanding.

"Ensuring that they would have to spend time together." finished Harry and Severus nodded his head in agreement.

"James would mostly just put up with while he had to, but otherwise didn't have anything to do with her. But then, after the whole situation with becoming a spy, we found out that James was pregnant."

"Yeah, about that." interrupted Harry. "How did that happen anyways?" Severus arched a brow at the question.

"I would have figured at sixteen you would know the answer yourself." replied Severus sarcastically.

"Please, that's not what I meant." said Harry, looking down and blushing slightly. Having a talk about the birds and the bees was not what he wanted. "What I meant was if it was accident or a potion."

"I didn't think that you would be aware of the ways a male can get pregnant, being raised by those muggles and all." replied Severus.

"Well, when Ron and I realized our preferences, I had mentioned that I still wanted children. He told me about how sometimes a male could get pregnant, but usually it is between two powerful wizards and it is usually by accident. He also mentioned the theory of a potion being created to assist with the process, but nothing has been created yet."

"Well, he is right. Many have tried, but have yet to succeed." said Severus.

"Ron said he would look into it because he also wanted a family." Severus started to make a comment about the odds of Mr. Weasley accomplishing something like that, but then he remembered the muscle cream, he decided to keep quite as Harry continued. "With you being a potions wiz and all I didn't know if you had found a way or if it was accidental."

"Well, like I said before, no one has yet succeed in creating the potion. So yes, it was accidental. It had been James' eighteenth birthday, and apparently while we were…together his power spiked as it usually does when you reach that age. Apparently the surge allowed the impossible to happen, because a month and a half later we found out he was pregnant. By then I was pretty deep into the spy thing. We were afraid that if the Dark Lord found out about James and who the other father was, he would use that to his advantage. Surprise, surprise that Dumbledore came to us with a solution to our problems." said Severus sarcastically.

"What did he come up with this time?" asked Harry, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"His simple answer was that if the Dark Lord didn't find out about our relationship then he would never make the connection between me and James. We simply had to disguise it by pretending to be in a relationship with somebody else. Take a guess as to who he decided would fill the spot best."

"Lilly Evans."

"Exactly, and Evans was all for the idea. James and I were so concerned about the pregnancy that we decided to go along with it because we didn't know what else to do. Basically, James was to pretend to be in a relationship with Lilly, spreading around the rumor that they had been together for a while they just didn't want to go public yet. By the time school ended, James wouldn't be showing yet, so Dumbledore planned a wedding for the two and said that after the 'pretend' wedding, James and Lilly would stay out of public eye until the pregnancy was over and then come back with a baby. Everyone would assume Lilly had it, so James and my secret would be safe. It sounded like a fool proof plan, so James and I agreed. It was at the last minute that we found out that the contract that Dumbledore was going to have them sign was a real binding contract, and would bind Lilly and James for life."

"So, what did you do?" asked Harry, extremely curious now.

"Black switched them. He made a duplicate that looked real, but was no more binding than the tissue you blow your nose with."

"So, all your friends knew that it was fake?" asked Harry.

"Yes, they did. They didn't like it, but they couldn't come up with a better idea other than James and I running away to America. Now though, I wish I had agreed to it." said Severus thoughtfully before shaking him and beginning the story. "So that is how it went. The next eight or so months, Lilly and James were basically in hiding, the only ones visiting were the ones that knew James was pregnant. I would go as discreetly as I could whenever I got a chance between the Dark Lords meetings and my job at the local apothecary. When James gave birth…nothing could describe the feeling. I never thought I could love somebody so much as I did you two. It killed me when they ended up going into public and I couldn't claim any rights. James knew how I felt. We discussed it many times and both of us were growing weary of the charade. Finally, the day before Halloween, everyone came over, with the exception of Evans, and it was decided that I was going to leave the Dark Lord and James and I were going to leave the next night and go into hiding so we could be together like we had originally planned, with our family. Bellatrix had volunteered to go to Godrics Hollow in the afternoon to get everyone's things packed and then the Black was going to come by in the evening to help us move everything with that motorcycle of his. When James left that night, I had thought that the next time I would see him would be when I picked him up to start our life together, finally. Instead, it was last time I ever saw him. The next night, the Dark Lord…well you know the rest." said Severus, standing up and walking over to the fire and sitting down in the chair in front of it.

"What about me? Why was I left? Why didn't you claim me?" asked Harry, and to him this was one of the most important questions he had. He saw Severus sigh again before answering.

"One thing that you must understand is that before your father and I got together I wasn't much different than how I am now. When we found out about the pregnancy, I didn't handle it well at first. I mean, come on when you think of father, my face does not come to mind. I was sure that I would be a bad farther. James convinced me that I wouldn't be and I believed that as long as he was there he was telling the truth. When I was with him, I felt like I could do anything. When he died, all that confidence disappeared. By the time I arrived at the house, you were already gone and Dumbledore was waiting for me. He told me where he had left you and at first I was horrified, but he reminded me how hard it would be to raise a child and that you were going to be okay and brought up right. I believed him to. It only took a couple of weeks and I wanted to go get you but Dumbledore told me that that could lead Death Eaters to you and there were many that were still roaming very pissed off at the Dark Lords so called defeat. So I stayed away and the Headmaster offered me a position at the school."

"Odd that he would say you couldn't handle being a father, but he was willing to put you in front of his students daily." remarked Harry.

"I caught on to that also. As the years passed, it got easier and easier to stay away. I kept telling myself that it was for your own good. And then you came to Hogwarts and the minute I saw you I could tell that everything that I had done the last nine years had been horribly wrong. But with my first confrontation with you I knew that I wouldn't be able to tell you the truth, not right then. There was no way I would be believed."

"You're right. I was so prejudice that I wouldn't have listened to a word you said." said Harry and Severus nodded your head.

"Then after the incident at the end of your first year I knew that I probably wouldn't ever be able to tell you. With the Dark Lord returning, if he knew you were my son then neither of us would be safe, or any safer would be a better choice of words.." at this Harry nodded with a curve of his lips. "Then I made the mistake of going to the Headmaster for advice. He agreed it was to dangerous for the Dark Lord to know of the connection. He told me to make sure I didn't get close to you, it would just make it harder for me to keep the secret."

"So that is why you treated me the way you did?" asked Harry in disbelief.

"It was the only way to ensure you didn't want anything to do with me. Each year you hated me more and while it killed me inside at least I knew you wouldn't be targeted because you were my son."

"Yeah, because being the boy who lived isn't a big target at all." replied Harry sarcastically.

"If the Dark Lord knew, he would have done the same thing with me as he did with Black." snapped Severus, and Harry realized the truth of his words. "I had resigned myself to that was the way it was going to be. At headquarters, I had seen the way the Weasley had considered you there own and I knew they could be the family to you that I never could be. Why Dumbledore forced me to give you Occulmency lessons, I don't know, especially when it had been his idea in to first place to keep my distance. Like I said, manipulations and him go hand in hand."

Harry sat in thought about what he had been told. It was a lot to wrap your mind around and he knew he was going to need some time to think about it.

"Well, I better get going. I need to get up to Gryffindor Tower before people get suspicious. I will talk to you later." he said, getting up and walking to the door. Just as he put his hand on the door, he heard Severus speak up.

"Why don't you have me?" Severus as quietly. Harry looked back at him and saw him staring into the fire.

"A part of me does. A part of me despises you for treating me the way you did, for leaving me in the hands of the Dursleys. The other part of me though, understands why you did it. I don't agree, but I can see your logic." explained Harry.

"So where do we go from here?" the older man asked.

"Honestly, who knows. We can't change everything after one night of the truth. But I would be a hypocrite if I walked away from the one person left of my family when I have been saying for the last ten years that I would give anything to have one. And I would be lying if I said I didn't want to give this a chance. We just need to take baby steps."

"Thank you." said Severus, finally meeting Harry's eyes. "I don't know why you are willing to do this, but thank you." Harry nodded his head and then walked out the door. Severus spent rest of the day sitting in front of the fire, staring at it in deep thought.

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	19. The Eyes

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO UPDATE. FIRST MY CHILDREN GOT SICK THEN I GOT SICK.

ENJOY

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It was later that evening that Mr. Weasley entered Severus' quarters. Severus wasn't sure how he got in, but since Harry was the last to leave he assumed he had something to do with it.

"Hello professor. I just wanted to check you one last time and give you some potions to take." explained Mr. Weasley of his presence.

"Did it never occur to you that being the potions master that I am I would be able to do that myself?" asked Severus sarcastically, who didn't appreciate being treated like a patient.

"Well, have you taken the potions you need to then?" asked Mr. Weasley and all Severus did was send him a glare. "Alright, then I assume that you have them set out so that you can take them, since you are a Potions Master." said Mr. Weasley again and again he received a glare from Severus. "That is what I thought." he said smartly before taking the potions out and starting to set them on the table next to Severus.

"Mr. Weasley, you are a brat." Severus said simply.

"Ron. Mr. Weasley makes me feel old." said Ron, setting the last vile on the table. "I am just going to go over your injuries, make sure they are healing properly. Can you take off your rob and lean forward so I can look at your back?" asked Ron. Severus raised an eyebrow and did as he was asked. As Ron was looking over the wounds on his back he started speaking out of the blue.

"He'll come around." he said bluntly.

"Who?" asked Severus, trying to pretend he didn't know who he was talking about.

"You know who. You can put your robe back on just leave it open so I can check on your chest." instructed Ron without missing a beat. "Anyways he just needs time to adjust to it all." stated Ron as he cast diagnostic spells over Severus' chest.

"He told you." It was more of a statement, but for some reason Severus needed the confirmation. It almost felt more real when he knew that more people knew the truth.

"Oh yeah, I had a load of chocolate frogs waiting for him when he got back to the tower." at this Severus raised his eyebrow in question and Ron chuckled. "One thing we all found out this summer was that if you wanted to get Harry to talk then get him on a chocolate high. It is his greatest weakness. If Voldie was every to find out, we'd all be dead."

"Voldie?" asked Severus incredulously.

"Yeah, Voldemort is to friggin' long. So when I saw the picture that night, I knew there would be a story. Besides it did him some good. Whenever Harry tries to keep things bottled up he ends up yelling and throwing things against the wall." said Ron, going from one subject to the other without pause. Severus couldn't help but wonder how his mind moved so fast. "Plus it was easier than normal because Harry did actually want to talk about it to us."

"Us?" asked Severus.

"Yeah Hermione, Ginny and me." Ron finished with Severus' chest and then started to examine the muscles on his arms. "Are they still sore?" he asked.

"No, not with the cream." Ron just nodded is head and continued with his examination. Severus was quiet for a moment before he asked the question that he really wanted the answer to, and if anyone knew what it would be it would be Harry's best friend.

"Why doesn't he hate me?" asked Severus staring into the fire, not daring to look the boy. Ron looked at him briefly before answering.

"When Harry asked you about that picture you could have lied to him. You could have just said that his father and you had dated in school but it didn't last. You could have kept your charade going. Instead you told him the truth. Not just the truth, but the whole story. You see Professor, you are the first adult who has ever done that for him. Instead of saving face or manipulating him you told him the truth. That means the world to him and to him it earns you a second chance."

Severus sat in silence as he thought was Mr. Wea…no Ron had said. He had known the manipulations that Dumbledore had put the boy through and how everyone in the order hadn't wanted to include him on the information they had discovered last year, but he didn't think it had had such an effect on him. If Severus had been in the boys position, he probably would have walked away in a heartbeat.

Feeling Ron move down to the leg that had been badly injured, he watched as he examined it. First casting a few charms but then he set aside his wand and laid his hand to where the wound had been. Severus watched, undeniably fascinated as Ron's hand lit up. He had always heard of wandless healing magic but had never actually seen in.

"I should thank you." At Severus' spoken words Ron looked up from what he was doing. "I would probably have died from blood loss from that wound if you hadn't done what you did."

"I know." said Ron looking Severus in the eye. "But I am not the one to thank. Harry is the one that knew you were hurt and came down here to check on you. He was the one that called me. It is Harry that is the reason you're alive." Severus watched as Ron bent his head to finish his examination, shocked by the boys blunt words. Finally Ron stood up and tucked away his wand.

"Alright, the potions you'll need are here. I am pretty sure I don't need to tell you when you need to take them." said Ron. "I am going to leave the potions you need to take before bed on your night table." said Ron, before walking straight into Severus' bedroom.

"Weasley's really don't have manners, not asking before barging into someone sleeping area." snapped Severus irritated as Ron returned.

"Please, you have nothing in there that I haven't seen before. I have five older brothers remember." commented Ron. Severus heard a chuckle and turned to the doorway to find Harry leaning against it.

"That is to true. I will never go into Charlie's room without permission again. I thought I only had to worry about Fred and George." Harry related with laughter in his eyes.

"I do not want to know." said Ron holding up his hand before turning to Severus. "Your potions are there and I left some more of the muscle cream. You need anything, just let me know." Said Ron before walking towards the door to leave. "See you at dinner mate." Harry nodded his head and when Ron left he turned back to Severus.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked, overhearing Severus' little rant about not asking permission. Severus nodded his head and Harry took a seat in the other chair that was in front of the fire. The two sat for a while, just staring at the fire, sitting in a comfortable silence.

"There is one thing that I don't understand." started Harry.

"Only one." commented Snape and Harry shot a quick grin.

"Only one that makes absolutely no sense to me. If Lilly Evans wasn't my mother, then why do I have her eyes?" asked Harry. After leaving Severus earlier that morning, he had thought over everything the older man had told him. Surprisingly it made sense, sounded absolutely unbelievable, but in a way it did make sense. Even about Lilly Evans. For some reason Harry had never found it odd that he was always told stories about his father, but he rarely heard anything about her. The only thing he had ever really been told was that he had her eyes and that she hated James until seventh year. Hence, his confusion over his eye color had come up.

"It's a spell. Dumbledore cast it when you were born so that you had some type of physical resemblance to her." said Severus.

"But I have had countless counter spells cast on me. Wouldn't that have revealed my real eye color?' asked Harry in confusion.

"No, it was a special spell that Dumbledore had cast. James and I hadn't even known it until after the fact. We were all together and we tried to remove it so that we could have one night how we were supposed to be. But it didn't work, so I researched the charm he had used and found out the it can only be removed by the caster or the person who the charm was set on, and only then by wandless, nonverbal magic. Whenever we were all together we could never seem to find Dumbledore to come and remove it."

"Do you think I could remove it myself?" asked Harry.

"Do you know wandless, nonverbal magic?" asked Severus, unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice.

"Yes." answered Harry simply, looking Severus in the eye. It had been a focus of his studies that summer and had come surprisingly easy to him, although he couldn't do any wandless healing like Ron could. Severus studied Harry for a minute before responding.

"The reversal spell is _Optimus Occular Revealeo_." replied Severus and then watched as Harry closed his eyes for a minute. When he opened them, he looked straight at him, making Severus suck in his suck in his breath in astonishment.

"It worked?" asked Harry, although he thought he knew the answer based on Severus' reaction.

"Yes, it worked." stated Severus, breathlessly.

"What color are they?" asked Harry.

"Hazel, a deep hazel. Exactly like James." said Severus, unable to look away from Harry's eyes.

"How do I put the spell back in place?" asked Harry, making Severus focus back on Harry.

"Why?" asked Severus, making Harry shrug.

"I am not sure why, but for some reason I feel like the Headmaster shouldn't be aware that I know the truth yet? If I have learned anything it was to trust my instincts and that's what they are telling me to do." explained Harry. Severus nodded his head in understanding.

"_Optimus Occular Revealeo Emerald Green."_ said Severus. He watched as Harry closed his eyes again and when he opened them they were back to the emerald green that they had been before.

"Thank you." said Harry, enjoying the fact that he another piece of his father with him. "Well, I better head to dinner. Will you be there?" asked Harry.

"Yes, I will be there momentarily." replied Severus. Harry nodded his head and left Severus to his thoughts.

It was later on that evening that Hermione, Ginny, Harry, Ron and surprisingly Draco were all lounging in the study common room. Draco had joined them a couple of days into the holidays, not enjoying being by himself. The group looked up as a pink owl tapped on the window outside and Ginny opened up the window to allow the owl to fly through. The pink owl flew straight to Harry and dropped a letter in his lap before flying out the window again.

"A letter from Fred again?" asked Ron with a grin. Harry tried to hide a blush he starting to rise to his cheeks while he opened the letter from Fred. "Is it a love note?" asked Ron mischievously.

"Come on Ron. Its just a letter telling me about the building they finally bought for their store in France." explained Harry.

"Sure it is. Just like the other notes you get from him at least three times a week?" said Ron.

"What this? Potter has an admirer?" asked Draco in mock surprise.

"Oh shut it you two. If you don't believe me, then read it yourself." said Harry, handing the letter over. Ron snatched the letter out of his hands, while Draco leaned over to read it himself.

"Well that's disappointing." said Draco with a frown, expecting a juicier letter. The Weasley twins were not just well known in Gryffindor house.

"Tell me about it." said Ron, handing the letter back to Harry. Harry took it and stuffed it in his pocket. What the others weren't aware of was that Harry would be sticking this letter in a box he keeps secreted away in his truck, along with every other letter that Fred had ever sent him.

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THE POTTERS WILL BE COMING INTO THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. THANKS FOR WAITING.


	20. The Potters

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER

HERE ARE THE POTTERS.

SORRY IF THE TWINS SEEM OUT OF CHARACTER. THEY ARE HARD TO WRITE. ENJOY

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Fred and George were closing up there new shop to take a walk around town in France about a week after Harry would've found out the truth about his parentage. Walking down the road they noticed a familiar mop of black hair walking down the street with what appeared to be a girl with long black hair.

"Hey George, is that Harry?" asked Fred, elbowing his brother.

"Really Fred, have we really progressed to hallucinating about 'the boy you always choke around instead of making a move'. I thought we were better than that." teased George, slinging his arms over his twins shoulder.

"Please, I don't choke. I am just waiting for the right moment. You see Harry is all about timing." explained Fred logically. "But really, look" said Fred, pointing to a few feet in front of them. George sighed and looked at where is brother was pointing and was surprised to find that indeed their was a very familiar looking head of black hair.

"Only you would spot that head in this crowd. Hey, whose the girl he's with?" questioned George as the two pushed their way through the crowd.

"Yo, Harry."

"Potter." yelled Fred and George at the same time and they saw the black hair pause for a moment, while the girl looked at him oddly.

"Hey, Harry Potter." hollered George, and the black head of hair finally whipped around just as the two reached him.

"Whoa, your not Harry." stated Fred.

"Master of the obvious." said George shaking his head.

"Who did you call me?" questioned the man that they now knew wasn't Harry Potter.

"Harry Potter." stated George.

"Don't tell me you don't know him?" said Fred.

"You know, the boy who lived." said George.

"Savior of the wizarding world and all that rubbish." Added Fred, both seeming to miss the mans face get extremely pale as they talked. "He would love to meet you then, he hates people who know him."

"You know him?" asked the girl next to the man that seemed to be at a lost for words. George gave the guy a side long glance, finally noticing then guys odd way of acting.

"Of course we know him. He's like our family, practically adopted him. Well except Fred here. He wants to be related to Harry in a whole different way, if you know what I mean." smirked George.

"All in due time my dear brother. Due time. Anyways, who are you lot. We have never met anyone who didn't know who Harry was." He said it good naturally, but his brother could hear the slight suspicion in his voice.

"Well…" starter the girl. "My name is Alexandria. Alexandria Potter."

"Huh, that's an odd coincidence." said George simply.

"And this is my father…James Potter." she said, knowing what reaction that would get from the boys if they were as close to Harry Potter as they say they are. Immediately at her fathers name the twins' smile disappeared.

"I think you two need to come with us." said Fred simply.

"Where?" asked the man, James, finally saying something.

"We have a shop we are getting ready to open just down the road. Come with us. We need to ask you some things." explained George. Alexandria took a hold of her fathers arm and led him as she followed the twins.

"So, what kind of shop do you have?" she asked.

"What kind of shop?" gushed George dramatically.

"The only shop that is any fun to have. A joke shop of course!" exclaimed Fred, throwing his arms wide as they reached the building. Alexandria looked over the building.

"Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Interesting." stated Alexandria.

"Interesting? Break my heart why don't you. You are standing before the greatest…" started George.

"The bestest…" added in Fred

"Joke shop from the bestest jokesters Hogwarts has seen since the Maraurders!" exclaimed George.

"Possibly better, but don't mention that to your dad." whispered Fred in Alexandria's ear as George opened up the shop. Alexandria finally let a smile slip as she glanced at her dad, who was staying extremely quite during the twins' babble. George opened the door and gestured for Alexandria and her dad to come in, with Fred following behind them. George went over and hopped onto their counter while Fred went into the back room.

"So you do smile. Usually it doesn't take so long for Fred and I to get someone to crack. Even then, that smile was rather small." said George conversationally.

"Yeah, my dad says I'm like my father in that respect. Apparently he didn't smile that much either." stated Alexandria easily and was surprised the boy didn't question what she said.

"You know, you do remind me of someone. Harry of course and your dad. But your eyes…who is it that they remind me of?" asked George as he stared into Alexandria's eyes in fascination.

"I got those from my father." she stated, getting a little unnerved about the staring.

"Hum." said George thoughtfully before sitting back a little.

"So where's your twin?" asked Alexandria, glad the staring had stopped.

"Getting Veritaserum." said George simply. "How did you know we were twins?" asked George.

"Please, it's obvious. Plus, we know our own" brushed off Alexandria with a wave of her hand. Again, the gesture seemed familiar to George but he couldn't put a name to it. Also, he couldn't help but wonder what she meant by her last statement. "Why is he getting Veritaserum?"

"Because, my dear girl." answered Fred as he came out of the back room. "Like my dear brother said earlier, Harry is like family."

"More to some than others." whispered George into Alexandria's ear, but Fred just shot him a look.

"And although my brother and I pride ourselves and the best surprise possible." continued Fred, "This would mean far to much to Harry for it to be a lie. So if you are who you claim you are, drink." With that said, Fred held the vial out in front of Alexandria's father with the most serious face that he had seen the boy make since she had met him. Which she found odd that that had only been a few minutes ago, when she felt like she had been around these two forever.

James looked at the two boys, debating. He had hid himself and Alexandria away for a reason. But this potion would change all that. Of course he could do a memory charm, but the fact that they said Harry was alive…could he take the chance they were lying?

"Fine." he said finally, taking the vial. "But only if Alexandria doesn't have to take it."

"Of course not. We can identify her through you. Besides we never knew Harry had a sister." stated Fred.

"Twin." interrupted Alexandria.

"Well, duh." said George slapping himself on the head. "That's what you meant." Alexandria shook her head and let out another small smile. "Aha, got another one. By the time I am done with you, I will have you rolling on the floor in tears."

"I highly doubt that." said Alexandria dryly.

"Oh really? That sounds like a challenge." said George rubbing his hands together gleefully.

"I will officiate the challenge as soon as we are done with the questioning. George, detective face." said Fred seriously, but Alexandria could see the laughter behind his eyes. She watched as George jumped up off the counter and stood next to his brother, both crossing their arms in a very realistic interrogation pose from the telly.

James smirked at them, catching on that they were extreme goofballs. Also, he had never seen Alexandria take so well to someone, especially that George character. Finally he lifted the vial and downed the contents and then waited for it to take effect, that was when the boys started their questioning.

"What's your name?" asked Fred

"James Potter."

"What is your sons name?" asked George and the three teenagers in the room saw the older man swallow roughly.

"Harry Potter."

"Do you wish to cause Harry any harm?" asked Fred.

"No."

"Does Harry have a twin sister?" asked George.

"Yes."

"What is her name?" asked Fred.

"Alexandria Potter."

"Does she have a boyfriend?" asked George, sending a wink to Alexandria.

"Wouldn't you like to know." she retorted at the same time Fred elbowed him.

"No." answered James. George gave Alexandria a triumphant smile, but she only sauntered up to him to whisper in his ear.

"Who says he would know if I did or not?" she asked before pulling away with her own mischievous smile. George looked at her flabbergasted before turning to his brother with a wide grin.

"I think I am in love." he said simply. He heard Alexandria grunt beside him, but she knew already that he was the type that would joke about it.

"Maybe we just have a weakness for Potters." said Fred, slinging his arm around his brother in mock support and understanding.

"Aren't you going to finish your questioning." she said in aggravation.

"Naw, we have the questions we wanted. Harry will do the rest. Why make him tell it repeatedly." stated Fred, pulling his arm off of George.

"Yeah, he should come around in a couple of minutes. Our brother with only give us Veritaserum that has a short time length. Thinks we might abuse it." said George, as if that was the most ridiculous thought in the world.

"Something tells me your brothers right." remarked Alexandria dryly.

"Maybe a little bit." said Fred, holding his pointer and thumb close together in front of his face.

"But we take what we can get. It's to advanced and time consuming for us and there is no way we were going to ask Snape for his supply." explained George.

"Severus." said James quietly, his eyes wide in shock and his face pale once again, the potion obviously wearing off.

"Yeah, the snakiest, greasiest git of a Potions Master Hogwarts has ever had." said George.

"I think you better watch what you say about him." stated Alexandria, glaring slightly at George.

"And why is that, pretty lady." asked George, throwing his arms around the girl.

" Because he was, is my father." replied Alexandria.

"Snape! That's who it is. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner." said George throwing up his hands.

"Uh, why does it look like your dad just a puke flavored Berite Bott Jelly Bean?" asked Fred, his brow creasing in confusion.

"Probably because my father is supposed to be dead." said Alexandria with no emotion.

"Dead?" asked George. "Nope, Severus Snape has been torturing poor Gryffindors for the past fifteen years." At the comment James groaned and sank down to the ground and his head fell back against the desk with his eyes closed.

"Did he just faint?" asked George as Fred went behind the desk and grabbed a piece of parchment and quill.

"Yeah he did." said Alexandria.

"Why does he think Snape is dead?" asked Fred, biting the end of the quill.

"What are you going to do?" asked George, nodding to the parchment.

"Oh, I am going to write Harry. I figure we can meet up with them tomorrow, you know to have that rosy reunion I am sure they have always dreamed of." said Fred, putting his hands over his heart dramatically.

"Some guy, Albus Dumbledore, told him he died the morning of the day Voldemort attacked the house." 'Hum, interesting." said Fred, before starting to write on the parchment.

"Don't you want to wake him?" asked George, concerning Alexandria's father.

"No, he will just do it again once he finds out he will be able to meet Harry." she said with a wave of her hand.

"You are amazing." said George in awe, before slinging his arm around her shoulders. "Now right this way my lady, to our new humble abode." he said as he started to lead her upstairs. Fred sent off the letter and levitated James off of the ground and followed the two upstairs.

"You live upstairs?" asked Alexandria. Usually she would never follow two boys into a building while her father was passed out, but she felt extremely comfortable with these and knew they wouldn't do anything to her.

"Well, the upstairs loft came with the place. Figured one of us can stay here while the other stays in the one in London." explained Fred.

"Besides, if both stay in the same place it might get crowded when the ladies come around." said George, giving Alexandria a suggestive wink.

"Please, like I want girls to come around." groused Fred.

"Like you want guys to come around either. We all the know the only one you want to come around is Harry." teased George and Alexandria smiled, knowing she was going to like these two.

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PLEASE REVIEW! I KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THE POTTERS. HOPED YOU LIKED THEIR INTRODUCTION


	21. The Meeting

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

I AM GLAD NO ONE WAS DISAPPOINTED ABOUT HOW THE TWINS WERE WRITTEN

ENJOY

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In the week that followed Severus' revelation, Harry spent a lot of time with his once most hated professor, now father. Harry would only reveal his true eye color when he was with either Severus or Hermione, Ron and Ginny. His friends would accompany him every once in a while, but Harry hated to admit it to himself that he enjoyed the time he had alone with the man.

While visiting Severus, the newly reunited father and son would either sit in silence or Severus would tell Harry stories from his and his dads school days. He had been surprised when Severus had informed him that the main reason Sirius had objected to their relationship was because he harbored a crush for James and was extremely jealous. Harry hadn't even been aware that Sirius was gay, but it made sense. He had never heard anyone mention one word about a relationship Sirius had been in. Harry had slowly come to accept this man as his father and was extremely glad that he hadn't run away. He now had a repartee with the man and was able to, at least in his head, call him his father.

It was at the end of that week that Harry and his friends were sitting at the table in the great hall having breakfast, when the owl post arrived. Harry looked in surprise at the letter that was dropped on his plate; he hadn't been expecting any type of mail. Curiously, he opened the letter and read the few short sentences inside.

_Harry,_

_Meet us at Moony's shack tonight. Be prepared. James Potter has reappeared._

_Freckles_

Instantly, Harry lowered the letter with shock on his face. His dad? He was supposed to be dead. What the heck was Fred getting at. He finally noticed that his friends were looking at him with interest, so he slowly passed the note to Hermione, who then passed it to Ron, who passed it to Ginny, until finally it was back in Harry's hand. All of his friends shared his expression.

"You don't think it's true do ya mate?" asked Ron.

"Of course it isn't true." whispered Hermione to Ron in a logical tone. "We all know that he passed away when Harry was one."

"It's true." said Ginny, staring at Harry.

"Come on Ginny! We don't even know who this 'freckles' person is." said Hermione in exasperations.

"It's Fred." said Harry simply, still looking at the note.

"Fred? My brother Fred? Since when did he go by freckles?" asked Ron.

"He doesn't really." explained Harry, finally looking at his friends. "But when your brothers picked me up during the summer I had mentioned that I could tell them apart by their freckles. Fred knew I would put two and two together."

"But it is probably a joke. You know how those two are." said Hermione reasonably.

"It's not a joke Hermione. They wouldn't joke about that." said Ginny.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Hermione.

"Because they know how important something like this would be to me." said Harry. "Fred and George are jokesters, but even they know where to draw the line. They honestly believe that he is alive."

"So what are we going to do?" asked Ron.

"We are going." said Ginny simply.

"But…fine, but when this is a joke, I fully expect an apology for saying I was wrong." said Hermione with a huff.

"Fine and we will give you an 'I told you so' when you are wrong." said Ron with a smile, relishing the thought of Hermione being wrong. She was never able to fully trust anything a prankster or jokester had to say, just like her view on the D.A. almost changed because Sirius thought it was a good idea.

Harry couldn't help but smile at his friends. He knew that if this person was actually his father then he was going to need all the support he could get when he saw him. The fact that his friends knew that and he didn't even have to ask them to go with him was amazing to him.

"So, um, what are you going to tell _them_?" asked Ron, nodding his head towards the head table. Harry knew exactly who the _them_ that Ron was talking about was.

"Well, Fred seemed to want secrecy, so we will keep it that way. As for others, I will give them a warning that something is up." said Harry, making sure no names were mentioned. Everyone nodded.

"So, common room at 8:00 pm?" asked Ginny.

"I'll bring the map and the cloak." said Harry. The topic of the letter ended there and quidditch talk quickly picked up.

Later that evening right at eight, the four met up in the common room and silently walked out through the portrait hole. Curfew was set for 10 at night since it was holiday break, so the quartet knew that they wouldn't be in trouble for being out. Quickly they walked outside and towards the whopping willow. Crookshanks showed up out of nowhere and darted under the tree to press the knob. The tree froze suddenly and the four Gryffindors ran to the secret entrance. The second they were out of sight, the tree started up again. The four walked in silence before they reached the Shrieking Shack. With one last look at each other, Harry reached for the handle to the door.

When James had finally come to the previous night it was to find himself in a strange room with his daughter sitting and talking to two red heads. It was only then that James remembered why he had passed out in the first place. When he was informed that the group would be meeting up with Harry the next day, he had promptly passed out again. This time his daughter took pity on him and revived him immediately.

James soon got comfortable in the twins presence, which really wasn't that hard to do. Harry was brought up a lot in their discussion, mainly by Fred, but James soaked up what information he could. It did seem like they were close to Harry and James was glad he had someone who cared about him, although they didn't answer the thousands of questions that were running through his head.

Soon, the twins and Alexandria drifted off to sleep, but James couldn't with the anticipation of being able to see his son the next day. He had been surprised when the following day had arrived and the twins had led them to the shrieking shack, obviously knowing the truth behind the ramshackle building.

Which brought them to where they were at the moment. Mainly with James Potter pacing the shack in impatience while his daughter and the Weasley twins watched on with slight amusement.

"Is he always like this?" whispered George into Alexandra's ear. Alex couldn't help but smile as his breath tickled her ear.

"When he is nervous? Yeah, all the time." she remarked.

"Well, he has a reason to be nervous." said Fred. "No one knows how Harry is going to react to this." said Fred.

"Are you sure he's coming?" asked James loudly.

"Of course he is. How could he say no to me?" asked Fred.

"Maybe he isn't as in love with you as you are with him." remarked Alexandra dryly. Fred gave her a glare, but knew she was joking. Even though they hadn't known her more than twenty four hours, Alexandra Potter and her sarcastic humor seemed to fit in quite well with the brother's playfulness.

"I don't think so." said George thoughtfully. "You haven't seen them together. Harry probably hasn't even considered it. He doesn't tend to think about it himself very often."

"Which is absolutely ridiculous At least he finally figured out he deserved better clothes. But man I wished he would've gotten some of those outfits earlier." remarked Fred fondly, remembering how good Harry had looked in them.

"He isn't coming." said James in exasperation.

"Dad…" started Alexandra, but she was cut off as the door to the shack opened up and in stepped in three quite imposing figures before they shut the door behind them.

"Wow." said Fred. "Nice entrance you guys." George chuckled at this and Harry threw Fred a small grin before turning to the other in the room. Alexandra went to stand by her father, knowing how hard this could be on him. Even she could see the uncanny resemblance between her father and who she supposed was her brother, who stood at the head of the group.

Harry stared at his father, not believing his eyes. He looked just like his pictures, just older. What he really studied though was the girl next to him. She reminded him of Severus, but without the nose. Same facial features, the eyes, mouth and hair. She had James bone structure though. Finally he turned to Fred.

"You gave them Veritserum?" he asked Fred.

"Of course. The best of Ron's stash." answered Fred. Harry nodded his head and then turned to leave.

"Come on." he called over his shoulders.

"Wait." said James, making Harry stop and turn around. "Where are we going?"

"Back to the castle. I am not the only one that you need to explain things to and why tell the story twice." explained Harry.

"The castle?" repeated James. "So its true? About Severus?" he added in whisper and Harry could see that his face had gone slightly pale. Harry glanced at the teenage girl who was standing next his father before turning around without a word and heading outside, followed by the three teenagers that had come with him.

Fred and George stood up straight and saluted before marching after them with their shoulders back. Alexandria tried to hold back a smile at the two as she slipped her hand into her fathers and pulled him to follow the group. Neither of the two knew what to expect from now on, but seeing their lost family member, not to mention the thought of seeing the other and they knew it would be worth it.

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PLEASE REVIEW, THANKS SO MUCH!!!!


	22. The Reunion

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DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

I AM GLAD YOU GUYS ARE ENJOYING THE STORY.

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The group trudged through the tunnel that would lead them to the Whomping Willow at Hogwarts. Fred maneuvered his way up to the front where Harry was leading the group. He slung his arm around Harry's shoulders, but kept his eyes forward causing him to miss the slight blush that graced Harry's feastures.

"How you holding up?" he whispered. "You ain't going faint or anything because I don't know if I could catch you in this tight space."

"To bad. Guess I'll have to find someone else's arms to fall into." said Harry nonchalantly as he continued walking. Fred had been thrown off by the comment because Harry didn't flirt back with him, but Fred collected him quickly and caught back up to him.

"Why were you secretive in the letter?" asked Harry, curious.

"Oh that. Well, Alexandria had said the Dumbledore told her dad, or your dad, the Snape was dead. So, my brilliant mind deduced something was up." answered Fred, holding his head high in pride, well as high as the tunnel would allow.

"Yeah, he was the one that told Severus he wouldn't be able to raise me without my dad." answered Harry.

"He did, did he. Looks like we will have to watch out for him. I always wondered why he never punished us for pranking Slytherins." Harry snorted in laughter. They walked in silence for a little while before Harry spoke again.

"So this Alexandria…she pretty cool?" asked Harry as indifferently as he could manage.

"Oh yeah, she's awesome." replied Fred enthusiastically.

"Oh." said Harry, unable to stop himself from feeling slightly crestfallen

"Yeah, George already has a thing for her. She keeps challenging him." commented Fred, happy that Harry didn't like it when he thought Fred liked Alexandria.

"Oh really. Met his match has he?" asked Harry, smiling once again.

"Oh yeah. Its not easy finding someone who can go toe to toe with us. Apparently you Potters have a talent for it." remarked Fred without thinking, turning to flash a smile at Harry. It was only then that he realized how close their faces had gotten as they stopped at the exit of the tunnel. Harry sucked in his breath but didn't move away, his mind registering just what that sentence could've meant. Fred was about to close the distance when a holler came from behind them.

"Yo, keep bloody moving!" hollered Ron, which immediately made him receive an elbow in his ribs. "Hey what was that for!" he said indignantly to George.

"Man, Fred was about to finally make a move!" whispered George in exasperation.

"What!" exclaimed Ron. "Bloody hell, why did you let me say anything!" grumbled Ron. George shook his head in dismay.

"Is it really that obvious?" asked Alexandria, not believing a brother of hers could be so blind. She watched as George and Ron shared a look.

"Oh yeah." they said together. James, who was in the back of the line, let out a small smile. It was so obvious that these children cared about his son greatly. The smile fell off his face at the thought of where he was going. For some reason he was terrified of seeing his once dead, or at least who he thought was dead, lover.

While this conversation had gone on in the back of group, in the front Fred and Harry looked away from each other. Harry had blushed madly, while Fred was cursing himself for pulling away at the sound of his brothers voice. After the slight awkward pause Harry pulled himself together.

"Ginny, go get Draco." ordered Harry.

"Why?" asked Ginny. "And why me?"

"Because he is Severus' godson, he should be included in all of this. You because you would be the first to bug him if you were bored." explained Harry. Ginny tipped her head to the side in thought.

"Your right I would, and have. Meet you at the potions lab?" she asked. Harry nodded her head and she pushed through him and Fred and left the tunnel.

"Here pass this back to my dad and Alexandria." instructed Harry, handing his invisibility coat to Hermione who started the train to the back of the group. "You two need to stay underneath it till I say so okay?" asked Harry as he looked at his two family members.

James looked surprised at being addressed as dad, but Harry had never called him anything else. Calling him James just seemed odd to him. The two took the cloak and nodded, throwing it around themselves so that no one could see them.

"Alright lets go." said Harry, leading the group out of the tunnel.

Severus was pacing his quarters, unknowingly mimicking what James had been doing in the shack. He had receive a message from Dobby that Harry had gone to meet someone and if everything worked out he would be bringing that person back to see Severus. It also said not to worry unless he wasn't back by morning. Of course, it didn't give any hint as to who that someone was or when Harry was supposed to back. Dobby had just said that they had already left. Suddenly their was a knock at his Potions Lab door and Severus rushed to open it.

"Well, don't look so unhappy to see me Uncle Severus." replied Draco dryly, because Severus face had fallen when he had seen Draco and Ms. Weasley at the door instead of Harry. But just as that thought ran through his head something else came to mind so he let the children in and as soon as he shut the door he rounded on the Weasley girl.

"Weren't you with Harry?' he snapped and her.

"Hey since when did you start calling Potter Harry?' asked Draco, confused. Even though he had formed a tentative friendship with the group of Gryffindors, he still called them by their last names. His question was ignored though.

"Of course I was. Don't worry, they are on their way. Harry wanted me to grab Draco also." explained Ginny.

"An answer as to why I need to be here is what I still don't have an answer to." commented Draco, trying to get someone's attention and find out what was going on.

"Oh hush, ferret. You will find soon enough." commented Ginny, causing Draco to cross his arms and glare at her.

"Perhaps you would be inclined to tell me who Harry was supposed to be meeting." said Severus, trying to keep his temper in check.

"Of course, they were meeting George and Fred." said Ginny in an offhand manner.

"Then why did he send me a message warning me he was bringing somebody. Those brothers of yours wouldn't warrant that?" asked Severus tightly.

"Oh that's because the twins brought someone to meet Harry. That's probably who Harry was talking about in the message." informed Ginny.

"And who would that be?" asked Severus through clenched teeth. If he didn't know better he would think that the little Weasley was doing this on purpose.

"Oh, well I am not allowed to tell you that." remarked Ginny, knowing she was pushing her professor by being so smart with him. Severus just growled and threw up his arms and continued his pacing. Soon there was another knock at the door, which Severus answered immediately. When he opened the door he was dismayed to find a group of Gryffindors, though the fact that Harry was at the head of the great did ease his mood a bit.

"Hello, Professor, may we come in?" asked Harry politely. Severus quirked an eyebrow but stepped back to let the group in. He did notice that one of the twins, he could never keep them apart, waited a few moments before stepping in. Shutting the door, he turned towards the group.

"It would be best to talk about this in your quarters Severus." said Harry completely serious. Severus nodded his head and allowed everyone to enter, the thought crossing his mind that he had never had so many people in his quarters at one time. Finally he turned to Harry with a scowl.

"Do you plan on telling me what is going on any time soon?" snarled Severus, not happy in the least.

"Yes, just give me your wand first." said Harry holding out his hand.

"Excuse me? You honestly think I am going to give you that when I don't know who is under that blasted cloak of yours!" exclaimed Severus in disbelief.

"The first thing your going to do when he see who it is is try to curse them. We don't want that to happen. There are seven very capable witches and wizards in this room that still have their wands if something were to happen. Trust me." pleaded Harry, looking Severus in the eye. Severus glared at him one last time before handing over his wand grudgingly. Harry took the wand with a small smile, glad Severus trusted him with this.

"Alright, take off the cloak." he ordered still looking at Severus. There was a brief delay and then suddenly James Potter appeared out of the blue with a teenage girl next to him. But Severus was so surprised at James' appearance, he didn't take notice of the girl immediately. Instinctively he reached for his wand before he remembered he had given it to Harry.

"Bloody hell, give me my wand!" hollered Severus, but Harry didn't move to give it to him.

"Severus." he started but Severus interrupted him.

"Are you a bloody dunderhead!" he hollered again.

"Severus." started Harry again, but Severus just ignored him.

"James Potter is dead Harry, this must be some Death Eater in disguise!" ranted Severus.

"Severus." said Harry much more firmly, but it didn't help.

"And you just led him right into Hogwarts!"

"Severus," hollered Harry, getting impatient.

"And locked them in a room with a bunch of students and took my wand!" ranted Severus and Harry knew it would take extreme measures to get the older man to pay attention to him.

"Father." said Harry so quietly that only the two of them could hear him, settling his hand on Severus arm. Although it was whispered, the title brought Severus to an immediate halt. Harry had never called him that before. Finally Severus looked Harry in the eyes, keeping quiet. "Its really him." Harry told him and Severus knew that he was telling the truth. He looked back at the two standing in the room, finally taking notice of the girl standing next to his supposedly dead lover and realized who exactly she was. Looking at James their eyes locked and both their faces paled to an almost white color.

"But your dead." they said together.

"Well obviously that's not true." remarked Draco sarcastically from the corner of the room, which received him an elbow in the ribs from Ginny. "Well it isn't. Obviously they both are quite alive." Draco's comment brought Severus out of his stupor and his impassive mask slipped into place.

"Which begs the question, what exactly are you doing alive?" asked Severus. "It is a well known fact that James and Alexandria Potter died fifteen years ago. So how is it that James and Alexandria Potter are standing in my quarters now."

"I could ask you the same thing!" retorted James. "And stop referring to me in the third person."

"What are you going on about?" asked Severus with scorn on his voice.

"You." started James, emphasizing the word by jabbing his finger towards Severus. "died the night Harry did…or the night I thought he did." James said the last part of the sentence quietly, suddenly unsure of himself.

"You don't have any idea what your talking about!" hollered Severus. "Who on earth told you that I was dead."

"Dumbledore! The morning after we had decided to leave. He fired called me and told me that the Death Eaters found out about you being a spy and killed you!" hollered out James, breathing heavily. Severus stood there in shock.

"Ah, the plot thickens." said George rubbing his hands together.

"Obviously there are two completely different stories here. Now is the time to get them straight. Severus, if you want to get the Veritaserum please." said Harry. Severus stared at James a moment longer before nodding his head. As he was about to walk to get it he suddenly remembered something.

"My wand please." he demanded from Harry. Harry gave him a reproachful look.

"Oh come on, I wont hex anyone." he snapped. Harry just looked at him, totally unaffected by his tone of voice. Finally he handed him his wand, which Severus pocketed immediately. Walking to the cupboards he grabbed some of the potion and handed it to Harry. Harry nodded his head in thanks and walked over to his dad and held it out for him.

"We just have to be sure." explained Harry. James studied his son before taking the potion and swallowing it quickly. "Thanks." he said before returning to Severus side.

"Now its time to figure this mess out." murmured Harry.

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PLEASE REVIEW!


	23. The Explanation

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS**_

**_THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! SINCE I GOT COMPLAINTS ABOUT MY CHAPTERS NOT BEING LONG ENOUGH THIS ONE IS DOUBLE WHAT I USUALLY WRITE._**

**_SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG. BOTH MY HUSBAND AND ONE OF MY SONS KEPT THROWING UP ALL WEEKEND SO IT HINDERED ME A BIT_**

_**ENJOY**_

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Everyone was silent as the three Potters and Severus stared at each other, waiting for the potion to take effect. Finally, they saw the signs and Harry and Severus glanced at each other before starting the questioning. They made a silent agreement that Severus would as the questions.

"What is your name?" asked Severus.

"James Potter."

"What is our children's names?"

"Harry and Alexandria Potter." stated James. At this answer Draco's eyes got wide before he turned to Ginny.

"When did that bloody happen?" he asked her in whisper.

"Listen and find out Ferret. Now you know why you're here." she replied back.

"Did you die on Halloween night sixteen years ago?"

"No."

"Did Alexandria die?"

"No."

"Tell us what happened after you left my house sixteen years ago on October 30th." said Severus, knowing it would be the best way to get some answers.

"When I got back to Godrics Hollow that night, I told Lilly that the kids and I were going to be leaving the next day. That the charade was over. Then I went up to the nursery and spent the rest of the evening with the children. I even slept in their that night. The next morning, I fed the children and then got them dressed. I let them play while I started gathering the things that I knew needed to be packed. Bellatrix was supposed to be there in a couple of hours and I knew she would lay into me if I didn't have anything ready.

Lilly poked her head into the room and told me that I had a fire call from Dumbledore and that she would watch the children. When I got down the fire place Dumbledore told me that you had passed away. He told me that your cover had been blown and they had sent your dead body to him. He told me he already had it sent to be buried and we could have a small ceremony for you.

I was so shocked I didn't even give him an answer. I just backed away from the floo, walked to the kitchen to grab my jacket and then hollered up to Lilly that I was going out for a walk. I walked for hours. My whole body and mind had gone numb. All I could think about was that you were gone. That I didn't even get a chance to see you before they…" it was at this moment that James paused, unable to say the words even under the potion.

"I finally saw how dark it was getting and realized how long I had been away from the house. On the way back home I knew that I was going to take the children and leave Lilly like you and I had planned. I had decided that I would go to Malfoy Manor with the children, knowing how close you were with them. Adding to that the fact that they had Draco as well, about the same age as the twins, I figured it would be easier on them. But when I got to the house, it was in ruins."

It was at this point that James told them about how he found the two adults dead. Saw what he thought was the dead body of his son and the relief at finding Alexandria alive. He told them of his quick decision with the marks and how he transformed all the bodies.

"Then I left with Alexandria. We found a house in muggle France and lived their. I didn't have anything to do with the wizarding world, not even reading their newspaper. As far as I was concerned, it didn't exist. When Alexandria started showing signs of magic I knew it would be disastrous if I tried to repress it, so I self taught her." at the end of the sentence, James eyes started to blink as the potion wore off. Everyone was silent in the room as they took in what had been said.

"Wait a minute. So Harry isn't the boy who lived?" asked Hermione .

"Well technically he is because Alexandria is a girl." deduced George before turning to Alexandria. "You are a girl right?"

"No, I just like to cross dress." she answered sarcastically. "Of course I am a girl."

"Hah, I think I am going to like this Potter." remarked Draco with a smirk.

"Oh really?" replied Ginny, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Not like that!" he said indignantly, not sure why he felt the need to defend himself.

"Good, because it looks like you would have to go through George first." replied Ginny, pleased at Draco's reaction to her comment, but not ready to admit why.

"So do you have a scar to?" asked George curiously. Alexandria gave him a look before pulling down the top of her shirt slightly, making George suck in a quick breath. Alexandria pulled the shirt down just enough to see the scar. The others in the room shouldn't have been surprised that it looked exactly like the one on Harry's forehead. Unconsciously Harry rubbed his scar.

During the whole story, Harry and Severus had stayed completely silent and still, almost unable to believe the story that James was telling them. But it had to be true for James and Alexandria to be standing in front of them. They had figured out that Dumbledore had been manipulating them, but they didn't realize that the manipulations had gone so deep. When the talk of the boy, or girl, who lived came up, it suddenly snapped Harry out of his reverie.

"No, no she's not." said Harry suddenly, causing everyone to look at him.

"What's wrong Potter, afraid of losing the title?" sneered Draco, momentarily slipping back into old habits. But the slap at the back of his from Ginny wiped off the sneer.

"Hey!" he said indignantly. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you were being a git." she said simply before turning to Harry. "Harry, what do you mean she is not. Your dad just said you didn't have the scar and she did."

"No. I wont allow it. I know what Voldemort can do and will do. I have gone through it. I wont let my sister go through what I have gone though. That's final!" exclaimed Harry, storming from the room in a rage. Everyone stood in shock because it had been so long since they had seen such a reaction from Harry. Suddenly Hermione, Ginny and Fred went to go after him at once.

"Wait." said a firm voice behind them. Turning around, they saw Ron standing there. "I will go talk to him." he said before walking out the door. The others wanted to follow, but knew that they should give Ron a chance to do this by himself.

Ron found Harry exactly where he thought he would, standing out in the middle of the Quidditch pitch looking up into the sky. Slowly Ron walked over to him and just stood beside him for a moment, quietly.

"What are you doing mate?" asked Ron quietly.

"I can't do it Ron. I can't make her take all this on just because she had the scar first. I wont make her go through that."

"Give me a break Harry. Now your being a hypocrite." said Ron.

"Excuse me?" asked Harry with narrowed eyes.

"Come on. All your life people have been telling you what to do. Who you were supposed to be. Now you are doing that to Alexandria. Did you ever think to ask her what she wanted?" asked Ron, his voice harsh.

"Well…I." started Harry, stumbling on an answer when he saw the validity of Ron's statement.

"No, you didn't. Instead you came out here to mope, while your whole family, whole family Harry, is inside that castle. Isn't that what you always wanted?" asked Ron, saying the last part quietly. Harry looked at the sky again.

"I am such an idiot." he finally said with a sigh.

"Well, I wasn't going to say it, but…" comment Ron and Harry punched him in the shoulder, both laughing. "Come on mate. Lets get back to your family."

"My family." repeated Harry with a smile on his face, following Ron back inside the castle.

"Mate, I was just wondering. I know you and Snape have reached a point where he is telling you the truth and all. So I was just curious why he didn't tell you that you had a sister. A twin at that." mentioned Ron. Harry looked thoughtful, thinking about it himself. It was only as he was going through his and Severus' countless conversations that he realized it.

"He did." answered Harry.

"He did? You never told us…" trailed off Ron.

"I didn't realize it till now. But that first night, when he first filled me in. When he mentioned my dad giving birth he had said 'I never knew I could love two people so much.' I had assumed he had been talking about my dad and me. But I think he was talking about me and Alex. He had also mentioned a couple of days later that James and him took us to your mums. Said something like she was helpful with just having her twins and then you. I had thought he was just talking about her having experience with children, but he meant experience with twins." Harry got silent, musing over it. "Maybe he just wasn't able to talk about the other child that didn't survive. This is Severus we're talking about."

"That's weird." mentioned Ron.

"Why do say that? I am surprised Severus opened up about anything." replied Harry.

"No not about Snape. That makes sense. What I meant was it was strange that mum never mentioned that James and Severus took you and Alexandria to our house. Or even that she had known your family."

"Maybe she didn't want to talk about my dead family?" guessed Harry.

"No. When it comes to mum, she would have wanted to tell stories. Especially once we got older. It's just odd." groused Ron.

"Well add it to the list I say." answered Harry as they reached Severus Potions Lab. When Ron and Harry entered Severus quarters again, they saw all eyes turn to them.

"Sorry about that guys. Hero complex kicked in." Harry gave as an explanation with a small smile.

"Its no problem Harry." said Ginny.

"Good thing your back. We have had to listen to the twins jokes non stop since you left." added Hermione.

"Hey." said George and Fred at the same time indignantly.

"I am sure she means it in the most lovingly way possible." commented Harry, not being able to stop himself from looking at Fred before walking over to Severus. Fred and Ron stood on the same side of the room as Severus and Harry while George was next to Alexandria, who had joined him against the wall instead of standing in the middle of the room next to her dad. Hermione, Ginny and Draco stood against the wall kind of in the middle of the room.

"Man, it is obvious.' whispered Alexandria to George, watching her brother and Fred interact. All George did was give her a grin, which Alexandria found she enjoyed very much.

"Dad, why don't we sit down." said Harry. James sat down in one of the chairs and Harry sat down across from him, while Severus stood behind Harry. "Dumbledore played all of us." said Harry simply.

"I think I am starting to see that now. At least you still had Severus. I am so sorry I left you, I would have sworn you weren't breathing." started James, sorrow in his voice, but Harry just held up his hands.

"I think I understand. Knowing what I have gone through, I wouldn't have wanted to have Alexandria grow up that way either. I also know what it is like to make snap decisions and hope they are right. I don't blame you. We just had extremely shitty circumstances. And as much as I wish you would have been here with me, you did what you thought you had to and I have to respect that." said Harry. "But one thing you should know is that Severus did not raise me."

"He didn't! But if he was alive, why wouldn't he?" asked James, looking up at Severus.

"Dumbledore convinced him that he wouldn't be able to raise me. That he wouldn't be a proper father to me without you around. I didn't even know he was my father until about a week ago." explained Harry.

"You have got to be kidding me!!" exclaimed James, but Harry shook his head. "What about Sirius, he was your god father. Did he raise you? Where is he?" asked James and even he didn't miss the undeniable grief in Harry's eyes. "What happened to him?" he asked quietly. Sirius had been a brother to James. Harry opened his mouth a couple times but was unable to say anything. He had been able to discuss Sirius this summer, but actually telling what had happened, he didn't know if he could do that Finally, it was Severus that answered.

"Black was framed for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and was sent to Azkaban under that charge and an additional charge of working with Voldemort in the Potters deaths, since he was their Secret Keeper." explained Severus.

"But he wasn't our keeper. Dumbledore k new that. He was the one that switched it to Peter, since he was the one that did the original spell." accused James.

"You mean he knew!" blew up Harry. For some reason he had assumed that Dumbledore had been unaware of the switch. "You mean Dumbledore let Sirius go through twelve years of Azkaban without claiming his innocence. Bloody hell, what is Dumbledore trying to accomplish." He stood up angrily. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he felt the need to march right up and confront the Headmaster. It was only when Severus placed a hand on his shoulder that Harry calmed himself.

"Now is not the time." whispered Severus in Harry's ear. Harry looked at him for a minute before sitting down with a sigh, he knew Severus was right.

"So is that's where he is now? In Azkaban?" asked James, looking at everyone in the room. But even as he asked the question, he knew the answer, because Harry had said twelve years not sixteen.

"Sirius escaped from Azkaban in our third year, but he was still considered and convict." this time it was Ron that was answering the question. Harry knew Ron had taken an interest in Sirius ever since their first and last Christmas together. "He lived in hiding for the next two years, but Voldemort lured Harry and us to the Department of Mysteries last year. Sirius found out it was a trap and insisted on coming with the Aurors to help us. While he was battling Bellatrix he fell behind the veil." finished Ron in a quiet voice.

"So he's dead?" asked James. "But that doesn't make sense. Why would he be dueling Bellatrix?" asked James in confusion, which only Severus understood.

"Bella hasn't been the same since the night you supposedly died." answered Severus. "She is a full supporter of Voldemort now and even tortured the Longbottoms until the went insane."

"What?" asked James in disbelief. "Bloody hell, I forgot she was supposed to be at the house that day. Was she there when he came?" asked James.

"I do not know. Just that she isn't the same person anymore." answered Severus. The teenagers just looked confused, because they hadn't been aware their was another side of Bellatrix, except from Harry who had been getting a good idea on how she used to be from Severus' stories. "But I have something more important to discuss. Harry, with the arrival of your dad and sister, I believe it is time to tell you that Sirius isn't dead?"

"What!?" exclaimed Harry, looking at Severus. "How do you know?"

"I have been researching the veil and have found a theory that a person doesn't necessarily die, but are held there. It is said they are given an option of staying there or passing on. I do believe that Black would've chose to stay." explained Severus.

"Why are you telling me this now? Why not before?" asked Harry, upset.

"Because, what I was researching was, and still is a theory. Plus, we didn't have all the components that we were going to be need to attempt it." defended Severus.

"What do we need to do it?" asked Ron. Severus glanced at everyone in the room, aware that all wanted to know.

"It is theorized that if someone was to fall behind the veil, they are stuck there." started Severus.

"That explains the whispering." stated Harry out of the blue, remembering.

"Apparently. It is believed that if one was to have enough of a bond to the person that is stuck behind the veil, then they would be able to retrieve it. The problem that has arisen with that belief is that when the bonded goes to retrieve the one that fell, they also get trapped there. Based on my findings, we would need at least two anchors outside of the veil that have a close bond to those going into the veil."

"Those?" asked Alexandria, this time being the first time she actually spoke directly to her other father. Severus looked at her a moment before answering.

"Yes, those. I believe it would be best to have at least two people go to retrieve the person that fell to provide an anchor inside the veil as well as those outside it." finished Severus.

"We could have found somebody. There was me and Remus. Ron and Hermione could have done it also." said Harry indignantly, still not liking the fact that Severus had kept this from him.

"I don't believe those would have been strong enough. While you and Lupin had a bond with Black, Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley did not." explained Severus.

"But you think we have what we need now?" asked Harry.

"With the return of your dad and Alexandria, yes. It is obvious that you and your dad had an extremely close bond with Black. While Alexandria may not have know Black, she is a blood relative to you two, which can form a solid anchor." stated Severus.

"And you would be with Alexandria?" asked Harry. "I mean being a blood relative to me and her, that would be a strong anchor as well."

"Indeed it would." answered Severus, knowing that wasn't the only reason he would be a good anchor for the group.

"Could you use a bonding potion as well, that would intensify the link between you four?" asked Ron. Severus gave him an inquiring look.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is a potion to use. It is very complex but doesn't take much time, so I will need your assistance making it. Since it is for four people, another cauldron would have to be made as well."

"Alright." nodded Ron in agreement, glad that the Potions Master thought him capable enough. "Should we start it first thing in the morning then?"

"Yes, that should work. It would be ready by noon then and would be fresh for when it is taken. We will need some drops of everyone's blood that will have to be linked." said Severus, looking at the Potters, who nodded their head in agreement.

"So wait." interrupted Ginny. "We are doing this tomorrow?"

"Well, it wont be necessary for all to go…" started Severus, but he was cut off by Ron.

"Sorry professor, but you can't expect us to stay behind while you do this. We will be there."

"Trust me, there is no point arguing with them. It will get you no where." stated Harry. Severus glared at the teenagers in the room.

"Fine, tomorrow evening after dinner we will meet in my quarters and floo." said Severus irritably. Everyone nodded in agreement with smiles on their faces, anticipating the event. They had yet to have any excursions this year.

"There is one thing that I am extremely confused about. It's about Lilly." said Harry finally, looking at both of his fathers.

"Ok shoot." said James.

"Well, from what I understand based on the stories that Severus has told me, Lilly was more interested in getting James than anything else." started Harry.

"Yeah, that's true. Even after you and Alexandria were born, she didn't really pay any attention to you." remarked James thoughtfully.

"Okay, so then her dying to save Alexandria and my life, thus forming the blood bond, doesn't make sense." said Harry.

"Well,, that was something that Dumbledore told you. Maybe he lied about that as well." speculated Ron.

"No, because we know for a fact that is was blood sacrifice that made it so that Voldemort was incapable of touching him in first year when he got the Sorcerers Stone. There was some type of blood sacrifice, but obviously since Lilly wasn't Harry's real mother that nonsense about Harry being safer at the Dursley's was absolute rubbish." deduced Hermione.

"Oh my…I completely forgot." whispered James, more to himself than anyone in the room.

"What?" questioned Harry.

"Bellatrix. She was supposed to come over to help me pack. When I found out about Severus and left I had completely forgotten." said James, looking at Severus.

"Wait, what does Bellatrix have to do with this?" asked Hermione. Harry and all of his friends still found the stories of how Bellatrix had been unbelievable, based on what they had seen first hand.

"Bellatrix…she cared about you two deeply. She loved you like her own." explained James.

"And if she was to be at Godrics Hollow, she would have been." said Severus. "It is very likely she was there when Voldemort arrived."

"So what, you think that it was Bellatrix who sacrificed herself?" asked Harry.

"It would make sense, based on the emotional bond that is supposed to be present for a blood sacrifice to have an effect.." said Hermione. "But we have all seen Bellatrix since that day. For the blood sacrifice to have worked, she would have had to die."

"Yes, and from what we have heard it is impossible to transfigure a body to look like someone else." replied Severus sarcastically, looking at James.

"Ok, wait a minute." said Draco, holding up his hand and walking to the center of the room. "Obviously I am pretty much the last one to know about what is going on here. So let me see if I have this straight. Severus and Potter are the fathers to…well Potter and this Alexandria chick, but Potter didn't know this until just a few day ago." Harry nodded his head at the statement. "And Potter pretended to be married to Lilly Evans so Voldemort wouldn't know about his relationship with Severus. But then Dumbledore tells Potter that Severus is dead and decided to disappear for the day. When Potter came back he found Potter dead, or thought he was dead."

"Bloody hell, will you just use his first name, you're confusing the crap out of us." interrupted Ron.

"Fine." answered Draco, sending Ron a glare. "James came back and found, what he thought to be a dead Potter, while Alexandria was still alive." Harry rolled his eyes at Malfoy using his fathers first name instead of his. "So he takes off with her and forgets about everyone else. But in actuality Potter was alive and gets sent to his relatives without Severus telling him he was his father. Not the mention that you seem to believe that Bellatrix was actually the one that died protecting the two, causing a blood sacrifice. And this Lilly Evans person transfigured Bellatrix's body to look like hers and then took Bellatrix's identity, becoming Voldemort's right hand girl." finished Draco, taking a breath. Harry looked at Severus and James before turning back to Draco.

"Yeah, pretty much." answered Harry.

"Alright, its official, You all are bloody crazy. This is what I get for hanging out with Gryffindors." said Draco with a shake of his head, returning to his spot next to Ginny.

"Please, you knew we were crazy before you started hanging out with us." she answered him.

"The question I have is that if Lilly was there when Voldemort attacked and is by his side today, how long was she on his side to begin with?" asked Hermione.

"And is she the one that told Voldemort about the prophecy?" whispered Harry, who had been wondering who that person had been. Everyone was silent as they pondered the questions that were asked, that is until both Fred and George busted out laughing. "Man you guys look so serious." said Fred. "Like it is a funeral or something." added George.

"If you all are going to continue on like this." started Fred.

"Then we are out of here." finished George.

"Much to gloomy for us." concluded Fred. Harry looked at the twins with a small smile.

"Alright no more serious talk." he agreed.

"Good." said the twins together.

"We should be heading back to the common rooms anyways, before someone gets suspicious." reasoned Hermione.

"And you two can stay with us at our flat above our store in Hogsmead." George told James and Alexandria. James nodded his head.

"Thank you." he answered gratefully, although he couldn't help but wonder if that offer was mainly due to Alexandria and George's obvious interest in her. Everyone started moving, obviously thinking everyone was heading out. When it looked like Fred was heading for the door Harry jumped up.

"Hey Fred, wait up a minute." shouted Harry. Fred turned around with a smile and stood against the wall waiting for Harry to come over to him. "I just wanted to say thanks." said Harry looking Fred in the eye.

"Hey, no problem." answered Fred nonchalantly. "I knew it would mean a lot to you." he said sincerely.

"It did. It really did." answered Harry softly. Fred and Harry stared each other silently sharing a smile for a couple of moments. Just as Fred was about to lean in, Harry decided to speak up nervously thinking that if Fred had wanted to do something he would have already.

"So George has a thing for my sister?" questioned Harry, looking at the two across the room as they goofed off, mostly so Fred didn't see the disappointment on his face. Fred let out a sigh before answering, knowing he waited to long.

"Oh yeah, he's got it bad."

"You realize, even though I may not know her that well, she is still my sister and if he hurts her he will have deal with me." answered Harry, already feeling protective over Alexandria.

"Don't worry, I will relay the message." answered Fred just as George, Alexandria and James walked up to them.

"We should head out." James told them. Harry nodded his head.

"You still have my invisibility cloak? Well technically it is yours." said Harry, disheartened slightly at the thought of being separated from his beloved cloak.

"No, its yours. It was right for it to be passed to you." answered James with a small smile.

"Thanks. I guess I will see you guys tomorrow when we go to get Sirius?"

"We'll be here." said George and Fred at the same time making Harry and Alexandria smile.

"It was nice meeting you Alexandria." said Harry. "Can I call you Alex, it's not that long to say?" asked Harry.

"Sure. It was nice meeting you to finally. Maybe next time we will be able to actually talk." she replied with a smile.

"Yeah, hopefully." said Harry, then he was surprised when Alex reached for him and gave him a brief hug. "I guess we will see you tomorrow." Fred gave him one last wink before the group headed out and James and Alex covered themselves with the cloak. Harry watched them go, unable to look away from Fred until he was out of sight, which is why Ron's voice from beside him surprised him.

"Look at them." he said. Harry looked at him in surprise, having no idea what he was talking about. That was until he followed his eyes to where Draco and Ginny were talking. Ginny was grinning madly while Draco was trying his best not to smile, but he was failing miserably.

"Bloody hell, they like each other don't they?" asked Ron, looking at Harry.

"I am afraid so, but I don't think they will admit it." answered Harry, knowing now how hard it would be for Ron to let his sister date somebody. Ron groaned before walking over to Draco as Ginny went to speak to Hermione for a minute.

"Malfoy."

"What is it Weasley?" asked Draco, but the malice that had been there for years wasn't present.

"You hurt her you're dead." Ron said simply.

"What are you talking abut?" asked Draco in confusion.

"Just remember what I told you." Ron warned before running to catch up with Hermione as she left.

"Come on Ferret, walk with me for a little." said Ginny, cuffing him on the shoulder.

"Just can't resist my company can you Red." smirked Draco.

"Please, I just need someone to amuse me on the way back to the tower, and looking at you always does the trick." teased Ginny, with a playful smile. Draco had to hold back a smile as she walked a head of him. A smile that slipped as he finally caught on to what the Weasel was talking about.

"Shit." he mumbled, but followed Ginny anyways.

"Well, that was interesting." said Harry, turning to Severus.

"Indeed." was Severus only response.

"I will see you tomorrow." said Harry. "I guess it is going to be busy." With that Harry left, leaving Severus to contemplate all that had happened in the last couple of hours.

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PLEASE REVIEW!!! THANKS!!!!


	24. Getting Sirius

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter

To my readers - I apologize deeply for not updating in so long. My life has been crazy this last year. I do not plan on abandoning this fic! I want to complete it to the end.

I hope you enjoy the next chapter. Don't forget to review!

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The next morning, after Ron finished his morning exercise, he made his way to the potion's lab under Harry's invisibility cloak. Although they hadn't seen Dumbledore in the last couple of days, they still wanted to be cautious. After knocking lightly, he entered the room quickly and took off the cloak. Severus was standing behind one cauldron and there was an empty one sitting next to him.

"I take it you are ready to work?" asked Snape, looking up at him.

"Absolutely." answered Ron as he walked over to Snape. Snape handed him a piece of parchment.

"Read this and then we will get started." Ron started reading the parchment as Snape finished pulling out the ingredients and setting them on the table.

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Harry was walking through the hallway trying to distract himself. It seemed everyone except him had other things to do. Ron was working on the potion with Severus, Ginny was off annoying Malfoy, Hermione was in the library and his father and sister were with Fred and George and he wouldn't be seeing them until they went to get Sirius.

Harry was still having a hard time grasping everything that had happened in the last week. Getting his family, not to mention possibly getting Sirius back, it was so unbelievable. Now if only he could figure out what to do about a certain red headed Weasley twin.

Harry couldn't help but smile as he thought about Fred Weasley. He honestly didn't know what to do about his feelings for him. What started out as a small crush was turning into something much more to Harry. Sometimes he thinks that Fred might feel the same way, but then he can't help but think 'why would he ever feel the same way about me?' It was all so confusing as the two different options seemed to argue in his head.

"Mr. Potter." The voice addressing him interrupted his train of thought. Looking up, Harry was surprised to see Professor McGonagall studying at him. "If you keep wandering like that then you'll end up walking into a wall."

"Sorry professor. My mind was somewhere else."

"Just be careful. You don't want to be injured on the holidays, especially when you have had such luck staying out of the hospital wing this year."

"Yes ma'am." replied Harry with a smile. Professor McGonagall nodded her head and turned to walk away. Suddenly Harry realized something. "Hey professor?" Professor McGonagall turned around at her name.

"Yes?"

"Where is Professor Dumbledore?"

"On a trip. Why? Do you need him for something?"

"No, I just realized that I hadn't seen him around." commented Harry. Professor McGonagall studied him a moment before walking closer to him and lowering her voice.

"With Professor Snape being uncovered as a spy, Professor Dumbledore felt the need to try to find inside information elsewhere. Since it has been quiet around her he decided now was a good time to go. He should be back just before the holidays end." explained Professor McGonagall before a thoughtful look took over her face.

"Oh, okay."

"Mr. Potter, why has it been so quiet around here? Is there something going on that I should know about?" she asked taking a step back and looking at him.

"Not at all." answered Harry, giving her an innocent smile. "Isn't it amazing what happens when the Slytherin's and Gryffindor's get along?" At the question a small smile escaped Professor McGonagall's lips.

"Yes, yes it is. It has to have been twenty years since I saw that."

"You mean there was a time when they did?" asked Harry curiously, noting the time frame mentioned.

"Yes, I believe there was." suddenly Professor McGonagall frowned and looked off into the distance. "Hmm."

"What is it?" asked Harry, drawing the professor's attention back to him.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just feel like I should be remembering something. Oh well, that is the price of old age Mr. Potter."

"I couldn't call you old professor, just aged to perfection." commented Harry with a smirk.

"Now you are starting to sound like your father and Mr. Black. Now run along before I really do believe you are up to something."

"Yes ma'am." Harry turned and walked away and Professor McGonagall let out a small smile. Harry made his way up to the Gryffindor tower, thinking that flying might help him clear his head.

* * *

At lunch time Harry was the first to arrive in the Great Hall but was soon joined by Hermione, Ginny and Draco. Since not many students had stayed for the Holidays there was only one table for everyone to sit at. The four decided to sit at the end of the table.

"No Ron yet?" asked Ginny.

"No." said Harry with worry.

"Don't worry Harry. I'm sure he will be here shortly. You know how caught up he gets." assured Hermione just as the Ron entered the room and took his seat next to Harry.

"Sorry I'm late." he apologized as he started putting food on his plate. Harry looked towards the end of the table and saw Severus sit down. "I wanted to make sure I finished before I came down." Harry looked back at Ron and smiled.

"You did?"

"Sure did. You should owl Fred to let him know. I'm sure he'd rather hear from you than me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." murmured Harry as he looked at his food.

"Please Potter, I think we all know what he is talking about." commented Draco.

"Oh shut it Malfoy. Besides, I have to send them my invisibility cloak anyways." replied Harry, tossing a piece of bread at Draco.

"Hey, no food throwing. I wont have time to change my outfit."

"Some things never change." said Hermione with a grin.

* * *

Later that day Hermione, Draco, Ginny, Harry and Ron were waiting in the potion lab for the rest to arrive. When there was a knock on the door Severus opened it and the twins walked in.

"The entertainment." started Fred.

"Has arrived." finished George. Suddenly Alexandria and James appeared from underneath the invisibility cloak.

"Something tells me we paid to much for the entertainment." she remarked.

"That's not true." said Fred.

"Because we, my dear, are free." said George.

"That's what I was talking about." replied Alexandria.

"Ouch, that hearts deep." commented George, holding his hands over his heart.

"You'll live." smirked Alexandria and she sat on one of the tables.

"What if I don't? Will you kiss me and make me better?" asked George leaning against the table she was on. Alexandria rolled her eyes.

"Smooth." she said.

"I know." said George with a smile.

"As interesting as that little exchange was, we need to get started." replied Snape with a glare at George.

"So what do we need to do?" asked Harry as he, James and Alexandria walked up to the cauldrons.

"Each of us need to add four drops of our blood to each cauldron." explained Severus. "Then the two cauldrons will be separated into the four goblets and we drink the potion. Mrs. Granger." Hermione walked up to the group and carefully cut a finger on each one. The four dropped their blood in and Ron stirred the potions, which started to glow blue. Ron then distributed the portions into the four goblets and handed them to each person. The four drank the potions, set the goblets down and looked at each other.

"That's it?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah, what did you expect?" asked Ron.

"I don't know, glowing or something." commented Fred.

"It's time to go." remarked Severus snidely walking to the floo.

"So are we just going to floo to the department of Mysteries?" asked Draco skeptically.

"I didn't think you could do that." replied Ginny.

"Obviously you can't." snapped Snape. "But Dumbledore made an additional entrance for order members. How do you think they got to you so quickly last year." explained Severus as he grabbed the floo powder. "Now you need to say _Room 214 Ministry of Magic_. Stay in the room until everyone is there. I mean it." added Severus as he glared at Fred and George. George looked at Fred.

"Why must we get told that every time?" asked George.

"It's like they don't trust us dear brother." answered Fred.

"Our own friends and family." replied George.

"Besides, what makes them actually think we would listen one of these times." said Fred.

"Okay, those two go last." commented Alexandria.

"Agreed." said Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Draco together. James couldn't help but chuckle.

"Enough of this. It is time to go. Two at time." snapped Snape. Harry and Ron went first, followed by Hermione and Ginny, then James and Alexandria, the twins and lastly it was Draco and Snape. Snape looked at the others once he entered the room at the Ministry. "Follow me. The halls should be cleared by now." Quietly the group followed Snape out into the hallway. A couple of twist and turns later the group entered a very familiar hallway. After checking a number of doors, they finally found the one that housed the Veil.

"Wow." commented Alexandria as they walked in.

"I haven't seen this place in years." said James looking around.

"Ms. Granger, I'm assuming you practiced the spell I told you about." interrupted Severus.

"Of course professor. If you four would stand together I will perform it." Harry and James stood next to each other and Snape and Alexandria stood slightly behind them. Hermione did the required movement with her wand. "_amo of vita._"**

There was a bright glowing around the four and suddenly a white glowing string attached itself from Harry to Severus, Severus to Alexandria, Alexandria to James and James to Harry. Walking away from the other three, Harry saw the string lengthened with him.

"Sweet." remarked Ginny.

"Okay, lets go." said Harry looking at his father. James nodded before turning to Alexandria.

"I'll be back okay?"

"I know dad." James gave her a hug before walking to the Veil.

"Harry." called out Fred, jogging after him. "Be careful okay."

"This coming from one of the infamous Weasley twins." teased Harry, touched by Fred's worry.

"Well if it was me and George then it would be different." smirked Fred before looking at Harry seriously. "You always seem to get into tight situations though and we can't come in there to help out. So be careful."

"I will, I promise Fred." Fred nodded and then walked back to the others. Harry looked at his father only to see James looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Not a word." mumbled Harry and James laughed.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah lets go." Together, James and Harry walked through the Veil. The others looked at each other in the room.

"So what do we do now?" asked Draco.

"Now we wait." answered Severus.

"Man, I should have stayed at the castle." grumbled Draco as he conjured a chair.

"Yes, because its not boring at all there." remarked Ginny, sitting next to him. Ron stood next to Hermione and looked at the Veil.

"I hope this was a good idea." stated Hermione.

"Me to, but if we can get Sirius back then its worth a shot." remarked Ron. Hermione studied him for a moment before looking at the Veil also.

"Yes it is."

* * *

Sirius was sitting with his face in his hands. He was so tired; tired of fighting the pull. He knew it would all be over if he just followed the voices that kept whispering his name. But no matter how tired he felt he knew he could never leave Harry. He had promised he wouldn't. Harry was still out there and alive, Sirius could feel it.

"Sirius." Sirius shook his head as he heard his name.

"I'm not going." he mumbled into his hands.

"Sirius." This time the voice was louder. Sirius looked up slowly. The voices didn't usually get louder. It was always the same; like waves crashing on a beach and wearing away the shore.

"Sirius!" Sirius stood up, looking around, trying to figure out where this new voice was coming from.

"Sirius!" Sirius looked behind him and stared in shock as Harry approached him.

"I've finally gone crazy. You can't be real. You can't be my Harry." said Sirius quietly.

"Sirius." greeted Harry, relief evident in his voice. "I can't believe we found you."

"You are not Harry." repeated Sirius louder and Harry only gave him a small smile.

"It is me Sirius."

"But how? Don't tell me you fell through also?" asked Sirius worriedly.

"Actually we walked in. But don't worry, we came in here to get you. You've been gone long enough." Harry looked around at the whiteness that surrounded them. "Although it is quite peaceful here." Harry was starting to feel the pull of the voices he had started hearing as soon as he entered the Veil.

"Peaceful yes, but tiring." Sirius looked away from Harry. "I am so tired."

Harry stared off into the distance as well, getting lost in his thoughts as the voices called to him. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking back he saw his father and suddenly Harry's thoughts cleared. Harry looked back at Sirius.

"Are you ready to come home with us?" asked Harry. It was then that Sirius caught on to something that Harry had said.

"Us?"

"Yes, us." answered James, moving to stand next to Harry. Sirius looked at him in shock.

"James? But you died. I saw your body."

"Like Harry said, you've been in here long enough and somethings have changed."

"More like revealed themselves. Come on Sirius, we can talk about it once we leave." said Harry.

"Or we could talk about it here. It's so quiet." said James, feeling the pull of the voices.

"True we could." answered Harry. Suddenly they both felt a pull and looked back.

"What? What are you looking at?" asked Sirius and James and Harry looked back at him.

"Come on, they are pulling us back." said Harry, holding out his hand.

"They?" asked Sirius, taking a hold of Harry's hand.

"There are others waiting to see you. You have been dearly missed Sirius." answered Harry.

"Some you haven't seen in a very long time." remarked James.

"You mean?" asked Sirius and James nodded his head. "She's really alive?" Neither James nor Harry could answer as they were suddenly yanked away. Sirius made sure to hold onto Harry's hand.

* * *

Outside the Veil it had been decided amongst the group that James and Harry had been inside long enough as it was going on three hours. Pulling them back, they all knew that if the two Potter's hadn't found Sirius then they would just try again at another time. Ron knew that now that they knew how, Harry would never stop searching for Sirius. Who knew how vast the space was behind the Veil.

The curtain started to stir drawing everyone's attention to it. Ron looked up apprehensively and three bodies suddenly tumbled out. Alexandria and George caught James, Snape and Fred caught Harry and Sirius was deftly caught by Ron.

"Ron?" asked Sirius softly in surprise.

"Don't worry Siri." replied Ron softly as he looked into Sirius' eyes. "I got you." Sirius gazed at Ron a moment before his eyes closed and his body went limp in Ron's arms. Everyone rushed over to Ron as he started to check his body over with his wand.

"Is he okay?" asked Harry worriedly.

"It looks like it. I'm not picking up any internal injuries. It looks like he's sleeping." answered Ron.

"He did say he was tired." commented Harry.

"Well I wont know anything for sure until we get back to the castle." said Ron.

"Let's gone then. We've been gone long enough as it is." remarked Severus. Everyone stood up and just as Snape was about to Levitate Sirius' body Ron stood with him in his arms.

"Alright, lets go." said Ron. Snape raised an eyebrow at this but didn't say anything as the group left the Veil behind them.

* * *

Please Review!


	25. Sirius is Awake

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

I appreciate the reviews and I apologize for the delay in updating as I have been busy getting ready for college. I'm actually supposed to be reading American Government Chapters, but I finally got this chapter sorted out in my head and had to get it out.

Just a few notes:

I will not be having the hocruxes in the story as I am not sure how to incorporate them without going out into left field.

There will be confrontation with Dumbledore but it will not be until of the Holidays.

Fred and Harry will be getting together shortly, but I want to write it right and at the right time.

I am glad you are all enjoying the story. I am hoping to have Christmas as the next chapter. Thanks for hanging in there with me! :D

* * *

Sirius slowly opened his eyes. Looking to his left he saw a large fireplace surrounded by sofa's and arm chairs. It was obvious that he was in Hogwarts but Sirius wasn't sure which room he was in. As he turned his head to the right, Sirius jerked back as he came face to face with Ron Weasley.

"Morning Sunshine." commented Ron brightly.

"Ron" groaned Sirius in a dry voice. "Water?" Ron walked away and then returned with a glass of water. As Sirius reached for it, Ron held it out of reach.

"Ah, ah, ah. What's the magic word?" asked Ron with a teasing smile.

"You're kidding?" asked Sirius and Ron only grinned wider which made Sirius pout. "I'm sick, your supposed to be nice to me."

"Your exhausted not sick and I am being nice, I do have the water for you don't I?"

"But you're not giving it to me."

"You still haven't said please."

"Please?" asked Sirius grumpily.

"It's a good thing your pretty." commented Ron as he helped Sirius take a drink of water. "You're about as much fun of a patient as Snape was." Sirius spluttered with the water in his mouth, so Ron pulled the glass away.

"That was practically an insult."

"I know." remarked Ron as he set the water down and began to running tests with his wand.

"That's mean."

"I wouldn't call it mean, I'd call it tough love." said Ron as he finished up his check up. "You're lucky. It looks like your body is exhausted but there aren't any external or internal injuries. I want you to rest for a while and let your body recuperate."

"Jeez, you're already a healer? How long was I gone for?" With this sentence Sirius remembered one person who wasn't in the room. "Wait, where's Harry? Is he okay?" asked Sirius, immediately trying to sit up but Ron forced him to stay laying down.

"One, I'm not a healer, two you've been gone for less than a year and three, Harry is fine and he will be here shortly."

"Are you sure?" asked Sirius worriedly.

"Of course I'm sure, I'm his best mate after all." answered Ron with a roll of his eyes.

"When will he get here? I need to talk to him, to tell him the truth! Snape..."

"Is his biological father. He knows that already."

"He does? How?"

"Professor Snape told him."

"Really?" asked Sirius in disbelief.

"Yeah. Once he was uncovered as a spy and Harry saw the picture of him and James in seventh year, he told him everything."

"Snape still has that picture?"

"Depends on what picture your talking about." answered Ron smartly. Sirius couldn't help the small smile crossing his face. Ron seemed to have gotten better at the playful banter since he had been gone.

"The one of them locking lips outside."

"That's the one. How did you know about?"

"I took it." answered Sirius. "Wait a minute, you said Snape told him everything, even...?" Sirius let the sentence trail off, hoping Ron would understand.

"Even that he had a twin sister?" Sirius nodded. "Yeah, Harry knows about that as well." Sirius looked away from Ron as thoughts went through his head, while Ron just studied him. Ron knew that Harry was probably outside the door at that moment listening in on there conversation.

"You want to know the one thing that he doesn't know?" asked Ron and Sirius looked at him with questioning eyes but it wasn't Ron that answered.

"How is it that you never felt the need to tell me this before now?" asked Harry in the doorway. As much as he wanted to run to Sirius right now, hug him and be assured that he was alive, Harry knew that he needed this question answered. Sirius immediately tried to rise at Harry's presence but Ron firmly held him down again. Sirius looked at Ron briefly before looking at Harry and noticing that he hadn't entered the room fully.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." answered Sirius quietly.

"Try me. After the last couple of weeks I've had you would be amazed at what I would believe." replied Harry, walking more into the room. Sirius took a deep breath before looking in Harry's eyes.

"Dumbledore put a memory charm on me the night Voldemort attacked your house."

"A memory charm?" repeated Harry before looking over Sirius' shoulder and looking at Ron.

"That would explain Remus, Mum and Dad as well." answered Ron.

"And possibly Professor McGonnagel and most of the Order." Sirius looked at Harry in surprise and glanced at Ron.

"Wait, you guys believe me?" Ron gave him a reassuring smile.

"We have been trying to figure out how my Mum could not tell any of us that he had a sister, it is so unlike her. A memory charm explains it."

"Oh." commented Sirius before looking back at Harry.

"Welcome back Sirius." said Harry with smile walking towards him. Sirius started to raise again but felt Ron's hand on his shoulder.

"Can't I at least sit up to give him a hug!" asked Sirius in exasperation and Ron gave him a stern look.

"Only sit up. I don't want you to try to walk."

"Fine." grumbled Sirius and Ron helped him sit up. Harry gave Sirius a tight hug before pulling away with a smile.

"Don't mind Ron to much. He takes his healing responsibilities very seriously."

"I thought you said you weren't a healer." asked Sirius, looking at Ron.

"I'm not." answered Ron as he helped Sirius lay down again, although he did use some pillows so he was propped up.

"At least not officially, but he's one of the best healers out there." answered Harry with a proud smile.

"I don't know about that." commented Ron, rubbing the back of his neck. Sirius looked at Harry again, unable to believe he was standing before him.

"I can't believe this. As much as I had hoped while I was behind the veil, I don't think I ever actually believe I would be seeing you alive again." Harry gave Sirius as small smile. "When you walked up and then James, I just..." Suddenly Sirius' eyes got wide as he remembered that part of the rescue. "James was with you!"

"I was wondering how long it would take you to remember that part." chuckled Ron.

"Hey, your the one that said I was suffering from exhaustion and then you wouldn't even give me any water to drink! My head hasn't been thinking clearly." answered Sirius, looking at Ron.

"Exhaustion has to do with the body, not the mind. Any issues you had with that were there before you fell and I did give you water, I just asked for manners first."

"That is such as Malfoy thing to say." retorted Sirius.

"I have been around him more than I thought possible, it's my sisters fault though."

"Wait, did you just imply that I'm mental?" asked Sirius in disbelief.

"Don't worry, all the fun ones are mental. I mean, have you met Fred and George?"

"Am I supposed to take at that as a compliment?"

"That's for you to decide." answered Ron with a wide grin, causing Sirius to unconsciously smile as well.

"Well, it's disheartening to see that I'm so easily forgotten about." Hearing the voice, Sirius looked at the door to see James standing there.

"Prongs." whispered Sirius starting to get up again, only to be held down by Ron. Sirius looked at Ron with exasperation. "You keep doing that and I'm going to start to think you like to hold me down."

"You keep trying to get up and I'm going to start to think you like it when I hold you down." retorted Ron with a grin.

"I was fine when I sat up for Harry. I'm sure I can stand fine." informed Sirius. Ron looked at him for a moment before moving to the end of the bed and holding up his hands in defeat. Sirius nodded his head, sat and made to stand. Once he was on his two feet, Sirius raised his head in triumph right before he started to collapse. Harry and James moved to help him, but Ron got there first.

"This is the second time I've had to catch you Siri. Do you plan on making a habit of it?" whispered Ron as he helped Sirius stand up and lean against him. "I take it I don't have to say I told you so?"

"No, you don't." answered Sirius, looking into pleadingly at Ron.

"At least let me help you there?" asked Ron, knowing what Sirius' eyes were asking. Sirius nodded his head and leaned on Ron as he led them to James, who was making his way to Sirius as well.

"You okay there Paddy?" asked James.

"I can't believe your alive Prongs." said Sirius as he reached for James and pulled him into a tight hug.

"I'm here Paddy. I'm sorry I was gone, but I'm here now." whispered James.

"How touching." came a sarcastic voice from the side. After pulling away from James and leaning against Ron again, Sirius looked towards Severus Snape. It was only then that he realized that when James had entered so had many others.

"I was thinking the same thing. Are all Gryffindor's this emotional?" commented Draco and was promptly smacked on the back of the head by Ginny. Hermione, who was standing next to Ginny barely held in her laughter.

"Come on, we need to get you laying back down." instructed Ron before Sirius could see who else was in the room. Once Ron had him situated Sirius looked at Harry and saw Fred standing next to him, then George and then a girl that Sirius never thought he would see again.

"Alexandria?" he asked quietly. The girl nodded.

"Hello Uncle Sirius." Sirius smiled at the greeting.

"But how?" asked Sirius, looking from Alexandria, to James and then to Harry.

"Its a long story, but first we would like some more information about that memory charm that Dumbledore put on you." said Harry.

"And how it is you suddenly remember everything again?" asked Snape in a skeptical voice. Sirius glared at Snape slightly before looking back at Harry.

"The Veil. When you fall through everything gets wiped from you. It's supposed to take you to another plane of peace, very similar to death, so there are no needs for charms, or spells or even magic. When I fell everything came back to me. It all happened the night Voldemort attacked Godric's Hollow." Sirius fell silent as he thought about that night. The others in the room shared a look.

"Okay, that sounds like it is going to take forever tell so I'm sitting down for this story." commented Draco, heading towards the furniture.

"That's probably a good idea. Lets turn the furniture around so it faces Sirius." instructed Hermione and she and Snape began moving the furniture.

"I call a sofa!" yelled the twins at the same time.

"Wow, they must really like to sit with each other." remarked Alexandria dryly to Harry.

"Attached at the hips, they are." commented Harry with a smile.

"Well then maybe we'll take the other sofa, they aren't the only twins anymore."

"No they aren't." said Harry with a smile. Alexandria and Harry gave George and Fred innocent smiles before walking towards an empty sofa. George and Fred looked at each other in disbelief.

"Wait." said George.

"What just happened dear brother?" said Fred.

"I believe they misinterpreted..." started George.

"or misunderstood..." added Fred.

"who we want to sit with." ended George

"Maybe next time you should be more specific." remarked Alexandria over her shoulder.

"Yeah, you know, to stop any confusion." added Harry, with a small grin at Fred. Fred and George looked each and grinned before looking back at Harry and Alexandria.

"Touche." They said together before walking towards the furniture. Instead of going to an empty sofa though, George sat on the arm of the sofa next to Alexandria and Fred sat on the arm of the sofa next to Harry. Sirius looked at Ron in confusion at the scene but Ron just shook his head.

"I'll explain later." he said as the rest took their seats.

"Tell us what happened Sirius." encouraged Harry.

"The night that Voldemort attacked I was supposed to help your father move your things." started Sirius, looking at Harry who nodded his head to continue. "When I got there, the house was in ruins. I saw James' body laying where the front room would have been. I heard crying so I rushed to the twin's room and picked you up and you stopped crying. Walking over to Alexandria's crib I saw her still form. That was when Dumbledore arrived. I was barely able to ask why this happened before he said 'I'm sorry' and cast the memory charm.

He told me that Harry was the only child of James and Lilly Potter. He told me that they had gotten together in seventh year and that a relationship between James and Severus Snape never existed, except one of extreme hate. He told me that I was the only one other Peter that knew about Lilly and James switching secret keepers. He told me that Hagrid was going to come get Harry and take him to relatives and that I needed to find Peter and bring him in.

Then he just left and I stood in front of the house with Harry in my arms. I remember that when Hagrid came to get him I didn't want to let him go, but it was like I couldn't control myself. When Hagrid left, I went after Peter. Having lost Harry and James, I was beside myself with anger. A part of me is surprised that I didn't hurt any muggles in my anger." The room was silent as everyone took in what was said.

"Dumbledore knew your tempter. I don't think he expected Peter to come back alive." commented James.

"That was the point wasn't it?" asked Harry angrily. "Take care of the witnesses, the ones that knew to much."

"It does appear that way." commented Severus softly looking at Harry. Severus couldn't help but feel that Dumbledore was lucky that he couldn't be found at the moment or he would have a very pissed off wizard to deal with.

"Do you think we could take this charm off the others?" asked Ron.

"Depends on the charm." said Hermione.

"It sounds like a combination of the Imperious and a memory charm, the way Black wasn't able to stop himself from handing over Potter." commented Draco.

"Wait I think I remember reading about a charm like that." said Hermione in thought before standing up. "I'm going to go to the library and see if I can't find it. I believe I know the section the book was located in."

"How could you possibly remember that?" asked James.

"I remember thinking how dangerous a charm like that could be, considering the shared characteristics it had with the Imperious and that it should probably be considered illegal as well, or at least in the restricted section. Could you imagine what some students could do if they found that spell!"

"Oh, I got a few ideas." said George, raising his hand.

"A few, I already got a list going." piped in Fred.

"And everyone says the Slytherin's are the ones you have to look out for." mumbled Draco.

"I should be back by the time you fill Sirius in on everything." said Hermione, ignoring the twins as she headed for the door.

"That'll be good. Once we get the counter curse we will perform it on Remus and Mrs. Weasley." said Harry.

"And when do you plan on doing that?" asked Alexandria.

"The day after tomorrow we are going to Hogsmeade to do some Christmas shopping." said Harry.

"All we have to do is ask Remus and Mrs. Weasley to meet us there to visit. It is the holidays after all and I'm sure no one would object to some extra adults with the group." explained Ron.

"This isn't just something that should be discussed out in the open." said James.

"We know. That is why we will meet them at the Shrieking Shack."  
"Oh, okay." said James.

"Besides, I'm sure Remus will be thrilled to find you two, I'm sorry three, alive." said Harry with a smile.

"Speaking of which, I still have no idea how that is possible." inquired Sirius and the smile left Harry's face.

"I guess it is time for our part of the story. Dad, why don't you go first and then Severus and I will explain everything that happened after that."

"Okay." said James before looking at Sirius. "That night Dumbledore..." Sirius sat quietly as James and then Harry and Snape explained all that had been explained before. Despite his silence, he was quietly getting angrier and angrier, until his fist were balled up beside him. It was only Ron's hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly that had him unclenching his fist. When they finished telling of his rescue, Sirius finally let out a long breath and looked at Snape.

"I'm alive because of you." he said simply.

"Don't be daft Black. A lot of things had to happen for it to work." brushed off Severus. Sirius looked at him in the eyes for a long moment before nodding his head and looking away. Severus couldn't help but think that was the closest thing to a thanks that he'd every received from the mutt.

"So it all comes down to Dumbledore." stated Sirius.

"I don't know about all, but a majority of it." said Ron.

"Where is he?" asked Sirius.

"Apparently trying to find inside information on Voldemort. He's been gone since Severus was uncovered as the spy." informed Harry.

"He's damn lucky about that." muttered Sirius.

"Yes, because you are so ready for a fight." smirked Ron.

"I can hold my own in a duel." retorted Sirius.

"You walk across the room without falling over and I might believe that." said Ron, making Sirius glare at him.

"I repeat my earlier statement. You are mean."

"Ah, but I'm fun. That should make up for some of it."

"Then by your own definition you mental as well."

"Takes one to know one Siri."

"Very funny. For the record you haven't seemed that fun to me."

"I figured I would wait until your fully recovered. You know, don't want to tire you out."

"Is it just me." whispered Fred, leaning in towards Harry. "Or did that sound like a sexual innuendo?" Harry covered his mouth before a laugh could escape.

"Yeah, I thought Fred and I were the only Weasley's who did that." whispered George.

"I doubt you could tire me out." said Sirius and Ron grinned, both oblivious to what the twins had just said.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see, wont we?" answered Ron.

"That almost sounds like a challenge." Ron smirked at Sirius' comment. "I like challenges. You just might be fun after all." The two shared a grin briefly before Hermione rushed in.

"I found it. I found the charm and the counter to it." she said out of breath.

"Can you perform it?" asked Harry, turning away from Ron and Sirius.

"I'm sure I can. The counter is quite basic. Perhaps Professor Snape could learn it as well, just to be sure." answered Hermione. Harry looked at Severus and he nodded.

"Alright then. Ron, send an owl to your mum and I'll send one to Remus. We'll meet up with them the day after tomorrow." instructed Harry. Ron nodded.

"Well I am going to head out." said Ginny, standing up. "Draco and I want to get some flying in together before the sun sets." Ginny and Draco stand up and walk out of the door hand in hand.

"When did they become official?" asked Ron in surprise.

"No idea." said Hermione.

"Come Ms. Granger and show me this charm." said Severus standing up and Hermione followed him out of the room.

"Well we would love to stay and chat." said Fred.

"But we need to go check on our stores." said George.

"Oh darn." remarked Alexandria dryly.

"Wound me." said George. "You know you'll miss me though, Ms. Potter."

"I know no such thing. Since we have arrived I have yet to be rid of you."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"We'll see about that." retorted Alexandria, although a small smile played on her lips.

"Yes, we shall. Brother dear, ready to depart?" asked George in flourish.

"Of course, brother dear. Till tomorrow..." said Fred with a bow to everyone in the room.

"Or the day after tomorrow..." interjected George.

"You never know what can happen with us." finished Fred, giving a wink to Harry, before the two left the room.

"Those two are crazy." said James with a laugh.

"Yes, they are." replied Harry and Alexandria at the same time before sharing a small smile.

"James, I want to move Sirius into that room over there. Do you think you could help me?" asked Ron.

"Hey, why do I have to move?" complained Sirius.

"Privacy." remarked Ron. James started to help Ron move Sirius and Ron's supplies to the other room. Looking back he saw that Harry and Alexandria had turned the sofa around and were both staring into the fire.

"It wasn't Sirius' privacy you were talking about was it?" asked James as he walked into the room.

"No, not really. They haven't had a chance to talk to each other since they arrived. I think its about time they did. Besides, I'm sure you and Sirius have some things you want to talk about." answered Ron.

"I am in the room you know." commented Sirius from the bed he was in.

"Yes, but you can't move, which makes it all the more easier to talk about you." retorted Ron with a smile. "I'll see you later James. Make sure he doesn't get up okay?"

"Okay Ron and thanks."

"No problem. The banter fully makes up for having to tend to him." remarked Ron.

"I wasn't talking about Sirius. Well not just Sirius. Thanks for being there for Harry. It's obvious how much you mean to him."

"I know you can understand better than anyone James, that you don't have to come from the same parents to be brothers." remarked Ron before looking at Sirius. "Stay down. I see you up and I will tie you to the bed."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" asked Sirius.

"Could be either, it depends on my mood." answered Ron. He nodded to James before exiting the room.

"That boy is going to be the death of me." said Sirius. James couldn't help but think that Ron might just have the opposite effect on Sirius.

As Ron left Sirius' room he saw Harry and Alexandria still staring into the fire. Without a word he walked out of the room. He knew the two had some talking to do and he had his own research to do.

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Please Review! Thanks.


	26. Alexandria and Harry Talk

DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

Wow, I wasn't expecting to update this soon but got to writting. I was hoping to get the holidays included in this chapter but it didn't happen.

Thanks for the reviews, it keeps this story going for me!

* * *

As the door shut behind Ron, Alexandria turned her head to glance at it before looking back at Harry. He was staring into the fire, looking as if his thoughts were going a mile a minute. Alexandria still couldn't get over his eyes, how old they looked. She had noticed that his friends, especially Ron, Hermione and Ginny, also had eyes that looked old but not as old as Harry's. Hearing what his life had been like, she could understand why. Although the only time she saw his eyes really lighten up was when Fred Weasley was around, she had seen that they would always soften when he was around his friends, his patchwork family that had seemed to keep him alive when he thought there was nothing to live for.

"So that's your best mate?" asked Alexandria. Harry glanced at the door that Ron had just left through and then looked at Alexandria with a smile.

"That's him, the brother I never had." Alexandria chuckled at the description.

"Seeing you two together, it reminds me of the stories that Dad would tell about Uncle Sirius and him. "

"It probably is practically the same, except the nicknames." added Harry with a laugh. "Ron and I never gave each other nicknames."

"You still could, you know, stick to tradition." suggested Alexandria.

"Nah, I think we'll stick with just Harry and Ron."

"Why?" Harry shifted at the question, pulling his feet underneath him.

"When I met Ron I didn't have any friends. I was suddenly the 'boy-who-lived.' I had strangers shaking my hands, students that would stare at me but not really talk to me. Ron had asked to see my scar on the train ride once he knew who I was, but after that he talked to me normal.

We've had our ups and downs about the whole fame thing. Ron had always been plagued by the fact that he was the youngest of six boys, six siblings who seemed to have done something worthy and he had always felt the pressure to do something that measured up. I believe each time something happened, like the Tri Wizard Tournament or because of my fame, it made him feel in the shadows, just like he had been with his brothers. But whenever I needed him the most he was always beside me. When it comes right down to it with us, we don't need nick names we just like being plain old Ron and Harry."

"But what about healing. I heard you say he's one of the bests around and he seemed to take really good care of Sirius. I don't believe George or Fred has said anything about a healer in his family."

"Well the healing just really came to him this summer. Before that he didn't know anything about it."

"This summer? Really?"

"Yeah, once Ginny helped him realize he could be really good at potions he realized that he was really good at healing potions. Then we found out that he could to wandless healing..."

"He can do wandless healing, really? I've read that that is very rare."

"It is. We hadn't really known that it had happened until Hermione researched it. We had been practicing dueling and my arm got sliced badly by a cutting curse. Acting on instinct Ron mended it wandlessly; it surprised the hell out of all us that's for sure. He kind of found himself this summer and he's gotten a lot more confident with not only his abilities but himself as well, but right now only a select few know about his abilities. He's trying to keep up the dumb best friend act so that people underestimate him."

"That's kind of smart of him."

"Yes well he's a great chess player, he seems to have the ability to think twenty steps ahead."

"Has he used the wandless healing since then?" asked Alexandria, extremely curious about an ability so rare.

"Not really. The last time he used it was to save Severus' life."

"The night he was uncovered as a spy?" she asked. The night that Harry had found out that Severus was his father hadn't really been discussed. Alexandria was curious as to what would make her father suddenly tell Harry the truth.

"Yeah. When I was sleeping I had gotten a vision about Severus being found out through my link with Voldemort. When Voldemort sent Severus back to Hogwarts I had woken up and immediately looked for him. Seeing the shape he was in, I sent for Ron. He had a deep gash on his leg that was losing a lot of blood, apparently an artery had been cut. Ron was able to heal it and gave Severus the potions he needed. If we hadn't been able to stop the blood, Severus probably would of died. The stubborn man, I don't know why he didn't go to Madam Pomphrey for attention."

"Thought he could take care of it himself?" asked Alexandria.

"Apparently. I don't think he realized how bad the wound on his leg was though."

"The vision you got from Voldemort...do they happen a lot?" asked Alexandria, curling up into her corner of the couch. Harry let out a dry laugh.

"They did. I would see through his eyes, feel his emotions, especially his anger. Sometimes it felt like my head was tearing in two. At the beginning they were all true because he didn't know that it was happening but last year he caught on. I had studied Occulmency this summer so I hadn't had any visions recently, but that night I had accidentally fallen asleep on the couch without putting up my shields. Either Voldemort wanted me to see what happened or he was so used to me not being there that he didn't realize I was there." Alexandria nodded her head and stared into the fire. "Do get them? The visions?" asked Harry but Alexandria just shook her head.

"No. I used to have some nightmares, but they were never clear and I could barely remember them when I woke up."

"What about your scar? With you technically being the 'girl who lived' I figured you would have a connection like I do." Unconsciously, Alexandria rubbed her scar in thought.

"I don't know really. It hurts occasionally, sometimes are worse than others. I think the worst was not even two years ago, it actually bled that time."

"Sounds like it was about the time he regained his body."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. It's like an ache in my chest, sometimes I forget its there, other times I can't."

"It's probably a good thing it's on your right side and not your left."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because your heart is more to the left. If your pain is like anything I have felt in my head then it might have affected it."

"I never thought of it like that."

"So the question is why do I seem to have this intense connection with Voldemort when you were the one he marked?"

"Well we are twins, there has always been a special connection between wizarding twins." Harry nodded his head as he considered this. "What about the spell that dad used to transfer the scar from me to you?"

"That would depend on the spell he used. I suppose it could have transferred some magic left from Voldemort. I'll have to get Hermione to research it for me."

"Also the fact that it was transferred to you head. Maybe that was what caused the mind link."

"Then why would you have the nightmares then."

"Well like I said, they were never clear and I was unable to remember them. Maybe they were residue from when you would have your visions. Like I said, we are twins so we already have a connection and dad adding the link with the scar probably enhanced that connection."

"Kind of like the muggles theory that twins can feel each others pain?" asked Harry with smirk.

"Yeah, kind of like that. Also, you were closer to Voldemort than I was. He used your specific blood to gain his body back which probably added to your connection with him." Harry looked at her in surprise.

"How did you know about that?"

"George explained some of the things you've been through to me."

"I see." said Harry looking into the fire. "Do you think you can do it?" he asked quietly after awhile. "Do you think you can kill him?" Alexandria stared into the fire as she thought about the question.

"Yes." she said simply.

"How do you know? Even after everything that he has put me through it's still hard to grasp the fact that I was expected to kill."

"I think you are more like dad, his compassion. I on the other hand think more like father. I think of it as something that needs to be done and if it protects my family then I will do it. I guess I have his sort of detachment." Harry nodded his head in agreement, already noticing that about her.

"It's so interesting to hear you call Severus father."

"I would guess with you just finding out that he was your father it would be weird to start calling him that."

"Yeah, out loud anyways. I call him father in my head sometimes. How is it that you act so like him yet you hadn't met him till now?"

"Well dad told a lot of stories but he also let me look into his memories of when they were in school. I guess what I saw kind of stuck with me."

"That makes sense."

"You're a mixture of both though. When you are trying to work something out you remind me of father, but when you are with your friends you remind me of dad."

"My friends have the ability to make me relax and forget all the crap that is going on in my life."

"They seem like amazing people. I keep referring them your patchwork family in my head."

"Yeah I guess they are, especially the Weasley's. You will love Mrs. Weasley when you meet her, although she will probably insist you eat more. She believes most people are much to thin." Alexandria laughed at that.

"Speaking of the Weasley's..." trailed off Alexandria.

"Yeah?" asked Harry slowly, not sure if he liked the way she started that sentence.

"When are you and Fred going to stop dancing around each other and admit you have a thing for each other?" she asked bluntly and Harry was at a lose for words for a moment.

"When are you and George going to?" he retorted but Alexandria just waved her hand in dismissal.

"We don't need to. I know that he's into me and he knows I like him. The banter is just what we do. We will get together when we feel the need to. You and Fred on the other hand..."

"I just don't know." answered Harry with a sigh.

"You do like him?"

"Yeah I do, seems like I do more with each day."

"Then why don't you do anything about it?"

"Because it's Fred. Why would he possibly have a thing for me? I'm sure there are many more people out there that he could be with."

"But he wants to be with you."

"Sometimes I believe that."

"You should believe it all the time."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Harry I've only been here a couple of days and I can see it. Plus, George told me."

"Really?" asked Harry with a small smile, getting hopeful.

"Really. So what are you going to do about it?" Harry looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I don't know yet."

"You're a Potter, I'm sure you can think of something. Dad said he trapped father in a closet until he would believe that he wanted to be with him." Harry couldn't help but laugh at this and was glad that he was finally able to talk with his sister.

The next day Molly and Remus were sitting down eating breakfast together at the Burrow. With the children staying at school until Christmas Eve, Grimmauld Place had seemed to depressing for the Weasley's to stay in for the Holidays. It was as they were sipping their tea that two owls flew in and landed in front of them.

"That's odd." remarked Remus taking the letter from the owl in front of him while Molly took the letter from the owl in front of her. "It's from Harry."

"This one is from Ron. You don't think something has happened do you?" asked Molly worriedly.

"No, we would have heard directly from Minerva." answered Remus as he opened his note and read it once to himself and then aloud. _"Dear Remus, I hope your holidays have been going good. Sorry I haven't been able to write recently, a lot has been going on. Anyways, we are all heading to Hogsmeade on Saturday to do our last minute Christmas shopping before we come home on Monday and we were wondering if you would like to meet us there? It would be nice to have a visit and catch up. Just meet us near the Shrieking Shack around 10 am, we will be waiting. Love, Harry."_

"The letter from Ron says practically the same thing. What do you think is going on? Why meet at the Shack of all places?" asked Molly.

"The last time we were at the Shack was with Sirius, Peter and Snape in third year. Harry wouldn't want us to meet him there without a good reason."

"I wonder what the reason is?"

"These last couple of weeks I kept getting this feeling that something was going on, but whenever I talked with Minerva she always said that everything was calm at the school. More calm than it had been in years. I think that something important happened and they want to tell us what it is. It's the only reason I can think that he would want to meet at the Shack."

"What do you say we meet up at the Three Broomsticks at 9:30 then?" asked Molly quickly making up her mind.

"That will work out great." answered Remus with a smile.

* * *

Please review!

Next Remus and Mrs. Weasley found out the truth and hopefully Christmas and some surprise guests!


	27. The Shrieking Shack

DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS.

I know I said I would get the holidays in this chapter, but yet again it is taking a little longer than I thought. I promise next chapter will be Christmas Eve!

* * *

The next day Remus and Molly made their way towards the Shrieking Shack, not talking between themselves. As they approached, they were surprised to see all who was waiting for them. Not only were Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione there, but Fred, George, Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape were waiting with them also.

"I never thought I would see that group together and not have to stop a fight." murmured Remus to Molly quietly. Molly just nodded in agreement before walking up to the children waiting for them.

"Fred, George. I wasn't expecting you two to be here." commented as she gave her twins a hug. Before the twins could reply, Mrs. Weasley moved on to the other children. "Hello dears, thanks for inviting us, although I don't know why it couldn't wait until you came home on Christmas Eve."

"Or your choice of meeting spots." commented Remus, glancing at the shack on the hill.

"Don't worry Remus, we we'll explain everything once we are inside the shack." said Harry.

"Wait, we are going inside that place?" asked Mrs. Weasley with wide eyes.

"You guys are." piped in Ginny, causing her mother to look at her and finally notice Draco Malfoy's arm around her waist. "Draco and I are headed to the three broomsticks, we already know what's going to be said."

"Oh, okay dear. Be careful." said Mrs. Weasley in confusion.

"We will. See you later mum." With that Ginny started to walk away and Draco, after a slight nod to Mrs. Weasley, followed her.

"Come on Mrs. Weasley." said Hermione, hooking her arm through the older woman's. "Don't worry to much about the shack. It's completely safe inside."

"Enough chatter." interrupted Severus. "Lets get moving, this Hogsmeade visit only lasts so long."

"Okay Severus." answered Harry with a playful exasperation in his voice before he started walking up the hill, making the others follow him. Remus glanced at Severus at hearing Harry use his first name, but Severus merely rolled his eyes and started walking up the hill. Remus caught up to Harry at the head of the group as he tried to sort out his thoughts.

"Remus can I ask you something?" asked Harry out of the blue, looking at him.

"Sure Harry, you can ask anything."

"Did you know that Severus and my father dated in Hogwarts?" Mrs. Weasley gasped in shock and Hermione squeezed her arm in comfort. Glancing at Mrs. Weasley briefly, Harry then looked back Remus. Remus looked at Harry in surprise and then glanced at Severus, who continued to look straight ahead, before answering.

"Yes." he answered truthfully and saw the disappointed look cross Harry's face as he looked ahead again. "You're wondering why I didn't tell you?" Harry nodded slightly but didn't look back at Remus. "Your father and Severus had only lasted a year before he got with you mom." Remus saw not only Harry, but everyone else look at him surprise. "With your obvious feeling towards Severus, I didn't think it was something you would want to know."

As they took their last couple of steps towards the shack, Harry was quiet in thought. Standing in front of the door, Harry looked at Mrs. Weasley and Remus again.

"Remus have you have heard of the charm _Memoria Emendo_?" he asked.

"Yes, I have. It's an advance memory charm but it isn't commonly used because it shows some of the effects of the imperious."

"Would you believe me if I told you that you and Mrs. Weasley had that spell cast on you?"

"Why would you think that Harry?" asked Remus. Harry glanced at Severus before looking at Remus again.

"Because my father and Severus never broke up and you should know that." Remus looked at Harry in shock before looking at Severus, who nodded his head.

"Well then Harry I would suggest we found the counter to it." said Remus and then glanced at Hermione and smiled briefly. "But something tells me you already have."

"Hermione did find the counter to it and both she and Severus have learned it. If you two would agree, I would like to perform it before we go in. Trust me, it will make everything a lot less confusing."

"Alright Harry. Hermione can perform the charm on me." agreed Remus before looking at Severus with a rueful grin. "No offense Severus, but I'm not to fond of being at the end of your wand."

"Understandable." remarked Severus. Harry gave Severus a small grin before turning to Mrs. Weasley.

"Mrs. Weasley, what about you?" he asked, but she was looking at Ron.

"Are you sure dear?" she asked.

"Yes mum. Trust me, you want this done." answered Ron seriously. Mrs. Weasley studied her son for a moment before turning to Severus.

"Okay Severus." she said simply. Hermione and Severus stepped forward and performed the counter charm. Mrs. Weasley's and Remus' eyes glazed over for a couple of moments. When they cleared, shock was clearly written on their faces.

"Oh Harry dear, I'm so sorry." started Mrs. Weasley, rushing to Harry and pulling the boy into her arms. "No child should grow up without knowing who his real parents are or who his sister..." Mrs. Weasley pulled away from Harry and looked at him in concern. "Do you know you had a sister? A twin? Her name was Alexandria..."

"Mrs. Weasley." interrupted Harry causing Mrs. Weasley to stop talking. "I know."

"I'm so sorry dear, I should have told you." she said on the verge of tears. Ron walked up next to Harry and patted Harry on the back.

"It's okay mum. We all know it's not your fault."

"It's Dumbledore's." said Remus quietly, looking at Severus and then Harry.

"Yes, it's Dumbledore's, but that isn't what we are here to talk about. Lets go into the shack." answered Harry.

"And please don't draw your wands when you see who is in there." asked Ron.

"Yeah, some of us have a personal interest when it comes to those in the shack." commented George.

"Isn't that right ronnikiens?" teased Fred, who hadn't missed his younger brothers actions the last couple of days. Ron just rolled his eyes while his mum looked at him him in confusion.

"Come on." said Harry, opening the door and letting Remus and Mrs. Weasley walk in before everyone else followed. Remus looked around and at first didn't see anybody. Then he saw that in the corner something started shifting. It was only Ron's request earlier that stopped him from drawing his wand as a big black dog walked its way to the center of the room.

"No way." whispered Remus softly.

"Oh stop showing Siri." commented Ron, leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room. Sirius transformed back to his human form and looked at Ron.

"See, no fun. That's all you are, no fun."

"Trust me Siri, you have yet to see all of me." commented Ron, making George and Fred bust out in laughter and high five each other.

"Our brother." said George,

"Who knew." added Fred.

"Padfoot." whispered Remus, finally able to speak to the man standing in front of him.

"You have to forgive Sirius, Remus." said Harry, patting him on the shoulder. "He tends to forget the things happening around him when Ron's around, serious or not." By this time, Sirius had looked at Remus. Throwing Harry a small glare, which Harry only grinned at, Sirius walked to Remus.

"Hey Moony." he said before wrapping him in a hug. Harry walked over and stood next to Ron as he watched the two embrace.

"You do you know that you said yet in that sentence right?" whispered Harry.

"Yup. I'm just waiting to see how long it takes for him to realize it." answered Ron, grinning broadly. Harry shook his head as Sirius pulled away from Remus.

"You look good Moony." he said.

"Molly's made it her duty to take care of me." He replied with a smile, although said woman just stared in shock at Sirius.

"I bet she has. Look, I know there's a lot to explain but...wait!" exclaimed Sirius, turning abruptly to Ron. "Did you say yet?" Everyone except Severus, Mrs. Weasley and Remus started laughing at this, while Ron just smirked.

"See, I always thought you were the quick one. I guess that goes to you Remus because I know James isn't." commented Ron.

"Hey!" came two different voices. Everyone recognized one as Sirius', but Mrs. Weasley let out a startled gasp when she looked to the other side of the room and saw two more people standing there.

"James!" exclaimed Remus, looking disbelievingly from Sirius and James. Remus looked at Harry, needing to know he wasn't imagining things. Harry gave a small smile and nodded. Remus walked over to James and gave him a tight hug. "I can't believe this...I don't know how...I'm so happy..." James chuckled.

"At a lost for words Moony."

"You have no idea." said Remus finally pulling back and looking at the teenager standing next to James. "So if this is really James Potter than am I correct in assuming you are Alexandria?" he asked calmly.

"Yes I am." she said and Remus pulled her into a hug.

"It's so good to see you alive and grown. Last time I saw you George was hiding your toys and laughing while you looked for them." reminisced Remus, pulling away and smiling at Alexandria.

"Why does that not surprise me?" she commented dryly, looking at George.

"What can I say, I was even charming as a toddler." he replied grinning and she just rolled her eyes.

"Oh my." breathed out Mrs. Weasley as she held a hand over her mouth and tears rolled down in her face. "How? How is this possible?" Ron walked over to his mom and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her into a hug.

"It's possible, it's just a long story. James and Sirius are going to fill you two in on the details because we are going to have to head back up to the school soon." Mrs. Weasley nodded her head.

"How long have you guys known about this...all of this?" asked Remus, waving his hand at the new arrivals.

"A little after holidays started is when it all started coming out. First Severus telling me he was my father, everything about him and my father. Then Fred and George ran into James and Alexandria and then we got Sirius back. It's kind of been one event after another." explained Harry.

"Why are you just now telling us?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Because until we got Sirius back, none of us knew why no one had mentioned the truth about Severus and my dad or about Alexandria. We weren't sure what was going on. When Sirius came back from the veil he could remember Dumbledore putting the spell on him. That's how we found out about it. I don't think Dumbledore was expecting anyone to be able to tell."

"I doubt he suspected so many people would come back from the dead." commented Severus dryly.

"Very true." agreed Remus and then he looked at Harry. "I assume there is a certain way you want to handle Dumbledore?"

"Yes. I'm working on it now. He isn't expected to return until just before school starts again so that gives me time to work out all the kinks." Remus nodded his head, he knew Harry wouldn't stand idly by with these new truths revealed.

"Hey mum, is there any way I could talk to you privately before we have to leave?" asked Ron, his arm still around his mum.

"Sure dear. Lets just go outside." said Mrs. Weasley, wrapping her arm around her son's waist.

"We'll meet you out there in a little bit." said Harry. Ron nodded his head and walked out the door with his mum. The two stood on top of the hill next to the building looking over the town of Hogsmeade quietly.

"It looks so peaceful from here." said Mrs. Weasley quietly. Peace was something she rarely saw anymore and she couldn't help but enjoy this moment with her youngest boy.

"Listen mum." said Ron, turning towards her. "First I want to say thank you."

"For what dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley in confusion.

"For believing us, trusting us...trusting me. Not many mum's would agree to have an unknown charm cast on them because their son says its okay."  
"Ron, these last couple of months I have had a lot of time to think and you know what I thought about?" at the question Ron shook his head. "You kids. You have been on my thoughts constantly. After the way you four took control of your lives this summer I realized something. Do you know what that was?" Again Ron shook his head and Mrs. Weasley put her hand against his cheek. "I realized that as much as it terrifies me, my children are meant to do great things in their lives. I am scared to death I am going to lose one of you in this war but at the same time I am so proud of you. So very proud." Ron enveloped his mum in a hug, unable to say anything at the moment.

"Thank you mum." he said quietly as his chin rested on top her head. "You don't know how much that means to all us, to me." Suddenly Mrs. Weasley let out a tearful laugh.

"When in the world did you get so big? I don't remember you being able to put you chin on my head last time we hugged." she said looking at him.

"Yes, well I just realized how long its been since we have hugged and I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be dear. Your a growing boy, you all go through the 'to big to hug their mom stage.' Trust me, I've been through it enough times." Ron smiled at this. "So what was the other thing?"

"Huh?" asked Ron confused.

"You said first when you started talking, so whats the second?"

"Oh, well." started Ron, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was hoping you could trust me just one more time."

"What is it dear?" she asked, starting to get worried.

"Well, I wanted to ask a favor and you and dad probably aren't going to like it very much."

* * *

Harry, Hermione and Severus walked out of the shack and saw Ron and Mrs. Weasley talking quietly to each other, although Mrs. Weasley was frowning slightly. Harry walked over towards them, while Severus and Hermione waited for him. He didn't know what Ron had wanted to his mum about, but from the looks of it it had been important.

"Hey Ron!" called out Harry as he neared them so that they were aware of his approach. "We need to head back." Ron looked at Harry and nodded his head before looking back at his mum.

"What do you say mum?" he asked and Mrs. Weasley let out a small sigh.

"Okay Ron. I'm going to discuss it with your father, but I will do it as long as your sure about it."

"I am. Something tells me that it needs to be done." Mrs. Weasley nodded her head and then hugged her son.

"I'm going to head back in."

"Okay. I'll see you Christmas Eve mum." Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a hug before she walked back into the shack.

"Is everything okay mate?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, I just needed a favor and it wasn't an easy one." said Ron, obviously not wanting to talk about it at the moment.

"Okay. Let's head back. Ginny and Draco should be waiting for us. James, Alexandria and Sirius are going to come back to the castle tonight and stay in the room of requirement." Ron nodded his head, although his thoughts were million miles away, and the two walked back to Severus and Hermione.

* * *

Please Reveiw. You will find out what the favor is in the next chapter. I am leaning towards a Remus/Hermione and Tonk/Charlie pairing. If you completely hate the idea let me know.


	28. Christmas Eve

DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

I didn't get a clear winner for my pairing between Hermione, Charlie, Remus and Tonks so I might go with my initial idea.

I hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

Christmas Eve at the Burrow was full of activities. There had been snowfall the previous night, leaving the backyard blanketed with snow. The Weasley's cast a number of warming charms around the yard to take the chill out of the air; since there were so many people attending that evening everyone had thought it would be better to serve dinner outside. Severus had gone to the Burrow the same night that everything had been explained to Mrs. Weasley and performed the counter charm on Mr. Weasley before leaving and let Mrs. Weasley fill him in on all the details.

Fred, George, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Alexandria, James, Severus and Sirius had arrived just before lunch while Charlie had arrived the night before. Bill wasn't going to be able to make it for that Christmas, much to Mrs. Weasley's dismay. Forgetting that Charlie didn't know what was going on, everyone had to stop him from pulling his wand when James and Sirius had walked through the fireplace and then gave him a brief explanation.

Currently all but Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny were outside. The other three were waiting in the kitchen, keeping their eyes on the clock. Harry walked into the kitchen and took a look at the three in there. Mr. Weasley was quite tense, Ginny was anxious, while Mrs. Weasley fluttered around the kitchen trying to keep busy.

"Almost five?" he asked Ginny.

"Yeah, when he said 'promptly at five' he wasn't kidding." remarked Ginny, also glancing at how tense her father was.

"Well, I just came in here to get some more punch. We're about out." said Harry, walking to counter. At that moment an alarm sounded to let those in the burrow know that someone had crossed their wards. While they had lowered all their protection wards, they had kept the alarm up.

"He's here." said Ginny, grinning at Harry. Harry shook his head at the excitement in her face and then looked at her parents. Mrs. Weasley had come to stand beside her husband and, if it was possible, Mr. Weasley stood stiffer. When the knock came at the door, Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes when no one went to immediately open the door so he went and did it himself.

Mrs. Weasley and Ginny glanced and Mr. Weasley once Harry had disappeared. It seemed like an eternity before they heard Harry approaching the kitchen again.

"Right this way. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny are waiting in the kitchen." came Harry's voice before he entered. He walked back over to where he was getting the punch bowl ready. Draco Malfoy, who had been right behind Harry, walked over to Ginny and gave her a small peck on the cheek and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Good Evening Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." said Draco to Ginny's parents but while Mrs. Weasley gave a nod and smile to the boy, Mr. Weasley was busy staring down one of the others that had entered the room.

"Malfoy." said Mr. Weasley in a tense tone.

"Weasley." replied Lucius Malfoy, while Narcissa said nothing as she stood beside her husband.

_Flashback_

_Draco had been in his common room the morning before Christmas Eve, waiting until it was time to go eat breakfast, when his fireplace had come to life. Not many knew that Malfoy Manor had a floo connection to the Slytherin's Common Room, but even knowing this Draco had jumped at the presence of his father's head._

_"Father." greeted Draco, moving to the front of the fireplace. "I wasn't expecting a call from you today."_

_"I wasn't expecting to make one." commented his father. Draco didn't say anything, knowing his father would tell him why he called. "Can you explain to me why we received an invitation from Molly Weasley to spend Christmas Eve at her residence?"_

_"You did?" asked Draco in surprise._

_"Yes, we did. Apparently it was at the request of her son Ron Weasley."_

_"The weasel?" asked Draco, raising an eyebrow. As far as he knew, the Weasel hadn't mentioned anything about inviting his family. Lucius Malfoy studied his son for a moment, seeing the thoughtful look on his face._

_"What I need to know is if this is a trap. She had said in her letter that their wards would be down for twenty minutes if we are to arrive." Draco looked at his father, debating on what to say._

_Ginny, Ron, Harry, Alexandria, James and Sirius were sitting in the room of requirement waiting for Draco to arrive so that they could eat lunch. It had become their unofficial hang out area when James, Alexandria and Sirius were there since no one was to know about their existence yet. Hermione had said she was going grab some food from the kitchen as she wanted to go to the library and research more on the dark curse that James had used on his twins, at Harry's request. When Draco finally stalked into the room, everyone was surprised as he walked right up to Ron._

_"You invited my family to your house for Christmas Eve?" he asked incredulously. Ron looked at those around the room before looking back at Draco._

_"Yes." he said simply._

_"That's putting an awful lot of faith in my family." he pointed out._

_"Am I wrong?" asked Ron, arching an eyebrow at Draco. Draco glared at Ron before looking at Harry._

_"And you're okay with this Potter?" Harry looked at Ron and then at Draco._

_"Yes. I'm sure Ron has his reasons."_

_"Is this a trap?" asked Draco to Ron._

_"No." said Ron without hesitation. Draco studied Ron for a couple of minutes before taking his seat._

_"My father says we will be there promptly at 5." Ron nodded his head and started getting food on his plate and everyone followed his lead._

_"Is it just me." started Alexandria, breaking the silence at the table. "Or is it odd that Ron invited Draco and his family and not his girlfriend?" Immediately James and Sirius almost spit out there food in laughter._

_"My aren't we blunt." said Ginny, blushing slightly._

_"Well she does have a point Ginny." said Harry with a smile._

_"If you must know, I was planning on inviting Draco this afternoon. The thought of inviting his parents never crossed my mind, I guess I never thought they would actually accept._

_"Apparently there is a first time for everything." replied Alexandria. The others at the table laughed and discussed other things, the topic of the Malfoy's coming to Christmas Eve dropped. Draco had found it odd that not only did Potter not know that the Weasel had invited his mother and father, but that he didn't even ask why._

_As a matter of fact no one at the table had asked why Ron had done what he did and he didn't explain it to any...except for one. Later that afternoon, Sirius had sneaked into one of the classrooms that Ron was working in and sat by the fire quietly watching him work._

_"So the Malfoy's huh?" asked Sirius. Ron glanced up and gave him a crooked smile._

_"Yeah." he said, stirring his potions. Sirius watched him without saying anything. "Over the last couple of weeks everything we know has been turned upside down ya know." Sirius nodded his head when Ron looked at him. "Harry sometimes tells us the things Professor Snape tells him. Add that to the things that I have heard myself and it sounds to me like Malfoy's mother and father were close to James and Professor Snape."_

_"They were." agreed Sirius. "But that doesn't excuse what Lucius Malfoy has done these last couple of years."_

_"It doesn't excuse Professor Snape either but, just like him, what if somethings aren't exactly as they seem?"_

_"What if they are?" asked Sirius._

_"Then I'm wrong. But my gut, it tells me I'm right." said Ron looking Sirius in the eyes. "And if I'm right about that, don't you think they would want to know about James and Alexandria also?" Sirius studied Ron for a moment before giving a small smile._

_"I know they would." he said softly. Ron gave him a smile before adding some ingredients to the potion he was working on._

_"Are you ever going to tell me what that potion is? You've been working on it for almost two days straight and its not one I recognize."_

_"No." said Ron simply, smirking at Sirius._

_End Flashback._

"Everyone is gathered outside." said Mrs. Weasley to break the uneasy tension.

"Before we continue on this evening I believe there is something we need to discuss." said Lucius briskly.

"And what exactly would that be?" said Mr. Weasley tightly.

"Um, I'll just take this to the back." started Harry, picking up the bowl.

"You should stay Mr. Potter as I believe it deals with you as well." Lucius, who had turned to Harry to speak to him, looked back at Mr. Weasley. "As to your question it would be your daughters first year at Hogwarts." Immediately Mr. Weasley's fist tightened as he took a step forward, only to stop at the feel of his wife's hand on his arm. Lucius looked at everyone in the room before continuing.

"It was my responsibility that year to get Tom Riddles diary into the hands of one of Hogwarts students. If I failed, my son would bear the punishment."

"You never told me that." said Draco in a hard tone.

"You didn't need to know." answered Lucius to his son. "I felt that out of the students attending that year, one of your children would know best what to do with such an object. Also, if something unplanned was to happen, they had the best people around them to deal with any issues. I never planned for it to go as far as it did." Everyone was quiet as they took in what Lucius said. Finally it was Ginny that broke the silence.

"You're right."

"Ginny." said her father, trying to stop her.

"No dad, he's right. You said yourself that I knew better than to write in something that could write back to me, that I should've given it to you right away. If I had, none of what happened in my first year would've happened. Can you imagine what would have happened if someone else got a hold of that diary, heaven forbid it was a Hufflepuff, then something much more serious could've happened. I had Harry, Ron and Hermione, who would they have had?" asked Ginny to her father and then looked at Lucius Malfoy. "One thing you must remember Mr. Malfoy, is that children, especially eleven year old girls looking for acceptance, may not do what you had planned."

"I understand this now." replied Lucius in an even tone.

"With that said I wanted to let you know I forgive you." At this everyone looked at Ginny in surprise. "What happened in my first year was horrible and gave me nightmares for months, but it has also made me who I am today and I happen to very much like the person I have become." Lucius studied Ginny for a long moment before nodding his head, accepting her forgiveness.

Mr. Weasley stared at his daughter also for a long moment before looking at Lucius Malfoy. Even after his memories had been restored, Arthur Weasley couldn't forgive this man for what he had put his family through these last couple of years. He and Molly had argued long and hard about the invitation and it was only because of her belief that Ron knew what he was doing that had made him agree very reluctantly.

"It's understandable." started Mrs. Weasley quietly. "What a parent would do to protect their child, especially one that is innocent." There was a snort of laughter beside Mrs. Weasley, causing her to look at Ginny questioningly.

"Sorry mum. It's just you saying Draco was innocent, I never thought I would hear those two words together." explained Ginny while Draco rolled his eyes.

"Like your one to talk." he said to her.

"Hey, I am more innocent than all of my brothers." she defended.

"That's not saying much considering they are all older than you and males." replied Draco and Ginny just smirked as an answer. Despite himself, Arthur couldn't help the small smile that came out as he watched his daughter with Draco Malfoy. Looking back at the boys father, Arthur finally made a decision. Walking towards Lucius he held out his hand.

"Welcome to my home Lucius." Lucius looked at the hand and knew it was Arthur's way of offering peace although he knew there may always be issues between the two.

"Thank you Arthur." replied Lucius, shaking his hand. "I also want to let you know that we burned your invitation once we received it so that no one would be aware that your wards would be down."

"I appreciate that and now that you mentioned it I should probably restore them now that you are here. If you will excuse me." he said, nodding his head and walking outside. Narcissa Malfoy watched him leaving before walking over to his wife.

"Molly, I couldn't help but notice the way my son greeted your beautiful daughter." she said, looping her arm through Mrs. Weasley's. Mrs. Weasley looked at her in surprise before smiling.

"I know, I was quite shocked myself when I saw them together a couple of days ago." she said as the two woman went to leave the kitchen.

"Should we be worried about that conversation?" asked Draco, looking at Ginny.

"Definitely, come on." said Ginny leading Draco towards their mothers. Harry watched them leave with a small smile on his face. It wasn't until Lucius spoke up that he remembered the older man was still in the room.

"I don't suppose you've seen my house elf recently?" asked Lucius, making a move to follow those that have just left. Harry grinned as he picked up the punch bowl and followed Lucius.

"Works at Hogwarts now. Apparently people figure why pay for one when there are so many who will work for free." informed Harry. "Which is a shame because he is a great house elf. I hope to hire him when I get out of Hogwarts."

"Yes, I always knew that if any of my house elves were going to disobey me it would've been Dobby." Lucius glanced at Harry before continuing. "You should know Mr. Potter, that I am very aware of who is around when anything concerning the Dark Lord is discussed, human and house elf." Harry thought about this for a minute, trying to understand what Lucius was getting at. If he knew Dobby would disobey him why would he let the house elf hear...unless Dobby was supposed to disobey so that Harry would have warning.

"Ah, I see." said Harry. "You know, you should try playing chess with Ron. You both seem to think twenty steps ahead, and are right most of the time at that." Suddenly Lucius heard a strangled cry from his wife.

"Lucius!" Looking at Harry in alarm, who was only grinning, Lucius rushed outside wondering if they had indeed walked right into a trap. What he saw surprised him and stopped him on his tracks. His wife was standing with a teenage girl wrapped in her arms and a smiling James Potter standing next to her.

"Lucius look, its Alexandria, she's alive!" exclaimed Narcissa. Lucius walked up to the girl that his wife still had her arms wrapped around, recognizing her as the older version of the baby he hadn't seen in years.

"Okay, why is my mother hugging Alexandria like her life depended on it?" asked Draco, not used to seeing such a display of emotion from his mother, especially around so many other people.

"Because Draco." started Severus, which Lucius just noticed standing off to the side. "Your mother and father are her god parents."

"Really?" asked Harry.

"Who did you think they were?" asked Severus.

"I don't know. I guess I just assumed Sirius was her god father like he was mine."

"No." said James moving to stand next to Severus, although Severus refused to acknowledge his presence. "Severus and I agreed that Lucius and Narcissa would be Alexandria's god parents and Sirius and Bellatrix were yours."

"James. You can imagine my surprise at seeing you here." replied Lucius, keeping the surprise from his voice.

"I bet you can. Just wait till you see Sirius." said James with a smile.

"Sirius? But Bella..." trailed of Narcissa.

"Bella didn't finish the job like she thought she did." said Sirius, walking up to the group with a smile.

"Sirius!" said Narcissa, wrapping her cousin in a tight hug. Pulling away, she looked at all those around her. "How is this possible?"

"That is a very long story." said Severus.

"We will give you the most important facts right now so we can enjoy Christmas Eve together." said Molly. A little while later Harry, Lucius and Severus were standing near one of the warming charms talking when Ron walked up and clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Hey mate, just want to give you a heads up. Fred and George did something to the punch. It's thicker than it should be."

"I'll remember that." said Harry.

"Are you letting everyone know?" asked Severus.

"Nah, not everyone, just a couple of adults and Harry."

"A couple of adults?" questioned Harry.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to get Sirius to drink it to find out what they did." Harry couldn't help but laugh at this. "What? How else are we going to find out?"

"And Sirius said you were no fun." said Harry.

"Exactly the point I'm going to prove." said Ron with a cheeky grin. Harry shook his head in amusement.

"Mr. Weasley." said Lucius, drawing Ron's attention to the older man. "I believe you are the one to thank for the invitation."

"No thanks needed. This is a time for family and because of Dumbledore it is something all of us have been missing for awhile. It was time to put it right."

"It has been years since I have seen Narcissa this happy." commented Lucius, looking at his wife while she talked with Molly, Alexandria and Ginny. Ron gave him a small smile.

"Then I'm glad. I have learned that everything is not what it seems and I am glad that was true for you as well. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a drink to serve." said Ron, rubbing his hands together.

"Black sure has met his match." remarked Severus.

"Yes he has, and it is so much fun to watch." said Harry with a grin.

* * *

Please Review. Presents will be handed out next and you will find what potion Ron was working on.


	29. Presents

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS

Sorry it has taken me so long to update, but school work piles up. But here is a nice long chapter. I'm sorry for any grammatical errors, I haven't had much time to proof read and if I didn't get this up tonight I didn't know when I would.

Some people have commented that it seems like Ron is the main character in this story and I have thought about switching, its been a thought of mine since I started this story. Harry will be playing a more active role once it comes to Voldemort and Dumbledore.

I personally don't like the reunion stories that have Harry basically taking over his family. For this story, right now Harry is being with his family which is why I am not putting much emphasis on him.

I just love building Ron's character as there's so much that can be done with it. I may be changed the pairing to Ron/Sirius as the story seems to kind of revolve around that at the moment.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

It came as quite a surprise that the Malfoy's fit into the evening quite well. While the children were quite used to Draco being around by now, Narcissa had opened up greatly and was steadily keeping a conversation going with Molly Weasley. She managed to get Ginny and Alexandria to sit down with her every once in awhile also. Lucius tended to stay around Severus and surprisingly James most of the night. A little before dinner was to be served Harry, Hermione, Ron and Draco happened to start talking.

"Wow Malfoy, I never knew your mother was so sociable." commented Harry to Draco as they watched her talking with Ginny and Alexandria.

"Yes, well Malfoy's know better to show their true selves in public." answered Draco haughtily.

"So, this is how she usually is at home?" asked Hermione curiously. Surprisingly, Hermione had spent the majority of the evening talking with Remus and Charlie and occasionally Ginny and Alexandria. This was one of the rare times that she had joined Harry and Ron in conversation that night. At first it worried her as she noticed this, but then she realized that she still felt just as close as ever to Ron, Harry and Ginny. She supposed that they were each starting to find themselves and some aspects didn't necessarily involve just the four of them.

"Not recently." commented Draco quietly. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at him curiously and Draco rolled his eyes. "Gryffindors. You can't just take the answer you are given can you?"

"Malfoy, even I know that wasn't a good answer." said Ron with a grin.

"She used to be like this." he explained. "When I went to school she seemed to kind of drift away and when the war started again she often acted at home like she did in public. It's like seeing Alexandria has..." here Malfoy paused, not being able to find the words. "She brought my mother back." he finished, trying to keep the envy out of his voice. The other three looked at each other, recognizing the tone he had taken.

"I don't think that's it Malfoy." said Hermione quietly.

"How would you know Granger?" asked Draco in hard tone. Hermione looked down, not knowing what to say.

"Well I know because I was in the kitchen when you arrived." said Harry. "I'm not going to say that it didn't surprise me to see your mother immediately warm up to Ron's mom. That had nothing to do with Alexandria, it had to do with you." Draco stared at him, not understanding but was to prideful to ask the questions.

"Malfoy, did you know that your parents weren't faithful to Voldemort?" asked Ron bluntly. Draco was surprised at the question and stared at Ron for a moment.

"No."

"Did they ever try to get you to join the Death Eaters?" asked Harry.

"No." answered Draco again before looking at his father across the yard. "My father always told me that I had to decide for myself."

"You were thinking of joining, weren't you?" asked Harry.

"Last year I was." answered Draco, getting tired of the questions.

"What changed your mind?" asked Hermione. The three Gryffindors saw Draco's eyes slid to Ginny before looking at the ground.

"This year is different. Things are different." answered Malfoy, leaving it at that.

"Did your parents know you changed your mind?" asked Ron.

"It wasn't really a subject we had time to broach."

"You still don't understand, do you?" asked Ron, with a small grin.

"What the bloody hell am I supposed to understand! You Gryffindor's aren't making any sense. Why I talk to you now, I have no idea." grumbled Draco, getting irritated.

"Draco." said Harry, knowing the first name would get his attention. "Did it ever cross your mind that your mother pulled away because she feared that you were going to be joining Voldemort? Did it occur to you that by coming here today, being open about your relationship with Ginny, showed not only your mother, but your father also, what side you had chosen?"

"Alexandria isn't the only one your mother has been fawning over Malfoy. She's been doing the same with Ginny ever since she has arrived. Plus, I have heard her and mum whispering when they know you and Ginny aren't paying attention." commented Ron.

"Malfoy, your mother finally feels like she has her son back. I think this is one of the few times Voldemort has been mentioned all night. There is no war right now. I bet your mother finally feels like she has her family back." replied Hermione softly. Draco stared at his mother who was still talking to Ginny, while Alexandria had been pulled away from them by George.

"Damn Gryffindor sentimentality." said Draco under his breath before walking over to his mother, placing a light kiss on her cheek and sitting next to Ginny and joining in on the conversation.

Dinner was served soon after they were able to get Sirius to stop singing Christmas carols. Of course, this took longer than expected due to the fact that most couldn't stop laughing and Sirius had started chasing whichever twin was closest as he had realized what had happened. Ron made sure to stay out of the way, knowing eventually Sirius was going to find out that Ron knew something was wrong with the punch that he had given them and it would be his turn. Despite this, Ron grinned knowing the spectacle going on around him was well worth it.

Everyone made their way inside the house, while Remus and Charlie offered to clean up outside. Lucius, Severus, James, Sirius and Ron where on one side of the room. Lucius found it kind of odd that the the youngest male Weasley seemed to get along so well with the older men, but he to had picked up on the banter between him and Black. Hermione, Ginny, Alexandria were on the couches laughing at the antics of George while Fred and Harry were standing near the doorway to the kitchen watching everything going on.

"I never thought this would be the crowd inside the burrow." commented Fred, grinning at Harry.

"Tell me about it." answered Harry, grinning also.

"So how does it feel?" asked Fred.

"How does what feel?" asked Harry in confusion.

"Spending your first Christmas with all your family?" asked Fred, motioning towards the people in the room, which now included Remus and Charlie. Harry looked at everyone in the room and for the first time it hit him, the truth of Fred's words. Harry sucked in a breathe and let it out as the realization washed over him. His family, his whole family, was here with him on Christmas. Looking at Alexandria, he gave her a small smile. Even family he didn't know he had was here. Alexandria returned the smile and wagged her eyebrows, looking at the mistletoe that was currently hanging over the fireplace. Harry's grin widened as she sent a wink his way.

"It's great Fred. There's probably only one thing that could make it perfect."

"Oh yeah, whats that? Ooh I know, locking your father and Snape in a closet until they start shagging or something." Harry chuckled at this so Fred started sprouting a couple more ides, some which also included Sirius and Ron in a closet. Taking a deep breath, Harry stood a little straighter.

"Hey Fred." he said and Fred stopped his rant to look at him. With a flick of his wand, the mistletoe that had been over the fireplace zoomed towards the two until it was directly above them. "Mistletoe." said Harry, grinning sheepishly.

"Well look at that." said Fred with a grin looking at the mistletoe. Looking back at Harry, he only hesitated a second before he bent down to give him a kiss. Harry immediately wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, deepening the kiss. Finally pulling away, Harry looked at Fred, trying to let him know that that kiss meant more to him than just a kiss under the mistletoe.

"Now its perfect." he said to Fred, which made Fred grin in response.

"I couldn't have said it better Harry." replied Fred, swooping in for another kiss that had nothing to do with the plant above their heads.

"About time!" exclaimed Ron and George at the same time.

"Aw." said Ginny. Sirius, James and George also ended up taking out some coins and handing them to Alexandria and Ron.

"How did you know he was going to do it tonight?" asked Sirius to Ron.

"I just know Harry like that." He said with a grin.

"How did you know? You just met him?" asked George to Alexandria.

"He told me." she said matter of factly.

"Hey, that's cheating." he pouted.

"I wasn't aware there were any rules. Besides if you had known you would have done the same thing." remarked Alexandria.

"Would not." Alexandria arched her brow at this. "I would have gotten you for a lot more." he replied with a grin.

Fred and Harry eventually managed to stop snogging, but the two didn't separate from each other for the rest of the night. Mrs. Weasley and Narcissa came in shortly after and announced that once the cookies were done they could open the presents. At this Ron stood up straighter and looked at those around him.

"James, Remus and Severus is there anyway I can talk to you in Percy's old room before we open presents." asked Ron, trying to keep some of the nervousness out of his voice although Severus was the only that picked up on it.

"Why not me?" asked Sirius.

"Despite what your brain tells you, everything isn't always about you." retorted Ron with a grin.

"But it should be." answered Sirius. "Come on, why can't I come."

"Don't worry, you'll see it when we open presents." said Ron.

"So it is about me then." said Sirius with a smirk.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because it makes sense that if its a gift for me then that's why I'm not allowed to see it." Ron just rolled his eyes and looked at the others that he had addressed.

"Show us the way." said James in amusement. Ron nodded and walked away, being followed by the three. Remus and James were a little behind Severus and Ron so that the two in front couldn't hear them.

"Should I be worried?" asked James, looking at Ron, but Remus just chuckled.

"No, Ron isn't really the pranking type. It's mainly Fred and George you have to watch out for."

"Are you sure? After Sirius and that drink..." trailed off James.

"Well, Sirius seems to be a special case with Ron. I've never seen Ron so comfortable with anyone else other than Harry and occasionally Hermione. And Sirius...Sirius doesn't seem to mind the things Ron does to much."

"You noticed that to, huh?" asked James, with a small smile to Remus.

"How could I not?" chuckled Remus. "I guess I just never pictured those two together."

"Yeah, but..." started James.

"What?" asked Remus.

"Well, not to sound cocky." at this Remus grunted good naturally. "But I know a lot of people viewed as kind of a leader of our group and with me becoming head boy."

"You got a lot more attention and respect than he did." supplied Remus as he caught on to what James was saying. "Just like Harry and the whole Boy Who Lived thing."

"Exactly. They were both best friends to Potter and be being so they were overshadowed themselves, but when they are with each other they both know that that doesn't matter." whispered James as Ron and Severus stopped at a door. Remus just nodded in understanding as Ron opened the door and the four walked into the room. As Ron shut the door, James and Remus looked around and saw a two small cauldrons in the center of the room. Severus immediately walked to the cauldron's and studied them.

"Is this what I think it is?" asked Severus, looking up at Ron with a critical eye. Remus and James glanced at each other in confusion.

"Yes." said Ron before rubbing the back of his neck. "Well I'm pretty sure it is. That's why I asked you up here, I wanted to have you check it before I finished the final steps." Severus studied the potions again before looking at Ron.

"They look perfect." he said quietly. Remus walked forward and looked at the potions also, as he had rarely heard Severus call someone else's potions perfect, especially a Weasley's potion. Looking at the potion, he tried to think back on his knowledge of potions, but couldn't come out with anything that would tell him what these potions were.

"What's is it?" asked James, walking up to the potions also. Potions were never really his thing, that was one of the bonus' of being with Severus. He never needed to know what they potions were because Severus always did.

"Affectus Rejuvenation" stated Severus, looking at the potion again.

"Really?" asked Remus in shock. "I've read about that, but I haven't found many successful stories about it."

"That's because it's mainly used after Dementor attacks. When they began guarding Azkaban...let's just say people didn't think those that got out deserved the potion." explained Ron.

"Not to mention that for it to work, they need to have memories from friends or family that could recall the emotions that they wished to bring to the fore front." added Severus.

"Alright, I hate to sound like the dumb one in the group." at this Severus snorted, receiving a smile from Ron and Remus but a glare from James. "When I asked what it was, I wasn't just talking about the name. What does it do?"

"Oh. Sorry about that." said Ron. "Affectus Rejuvenation translated means emotional rejuvenation. The purpose of it is to basically give the memories, or the emotions that were present in memories, back to someone who has been in constant contact with a Dementor."

"Like Sirius?" asked James.

"Exactly like Sirius. Even if he remembers that happy times before his time in Azkaban, he can't feel the happiness that he felt when the original event occurred. In theory, this potion can give some of those emotions back to him." explained Ron.

"So this was about Sirius." stated James with a grin and Ron just rolled his eyes. "So you said 'in theory.' How does this all work? Why are there two cauldron's?"

"Because." started Severus in a dry tone. "One potion holds the memories from his friends and family; an altered form of the liquid found in a pensive. It allows the person to not only witness a memory but feel the emotions from those in the room as well, especially those exuding from the memory of himself. The other he is supposed to drink before he looks at the memories. It will allow his mind to hold onto to those emotions."

"So we just put happy memories in there?" asked James.

"Yes, because everything is that simple." snapped Severus sarcastically.

"Not just any happy memories James." said Ron, giving Severus a look. "Only ones where Sirius was there."

"Will we get our memories back?" asked Remus quietly, looking at Ron and Ron grimace a little.

"You should be able to." at the confused look from James, Ron began to explain. "That's one of the tricky parts about this potion. If you were to place memories in a pensive, they would just be copies of the memories. For this potion to be effective, I need the actual memory itself."

"So we wont remember any of it?" asked James.

"Well, while they are in the pensive, no. But you should be able to withdraw them once he is done." explained Ron.

"You said should be able to. Your not sure?" he asked wearily.

"If the potion was made wrong, you wouldn't be able to. That is why I asked Severus here, so that he could look at it and make sure it is right." said Ron, rubbing the back of his neck nervously again.

"And you said it was perfect?" asked James, turning to Severus. Severus looked at the potions again, at Remus and James and then at Ron, studying him for a moment.

"I probably couldn't have made it better." he commented seriously, making Ron break out into a huge grin. Ron looked at Remus and James, but the two were looking at each other wearily. Sirius getting his memories back was almost to amazing to think about; James could often see the emptiness in his eyes. Ron and Harry seemed to be the two main people that seemed to almost make the emptiness go away. But at the same time, if the potion was wrong they would lose all their happy memories with Sirius. James was only slightly hesitant, as he had seen the way Ron had worked the last couple of days and knew he was confident in what he could do. However, for Remus was hesitant because he knew about Ron's track record with potions and he was unsure of putting his fondest memories in his hands. After a few moments of silence had passed, Severus finally stepped forward.

"I have one to put in there." he said briskly and pointing his wand to his head, he said a soft incantation and pulled a silvery mist out and put it in the potion.

"What memory do you have?" asked James in surprise, knowing that while Sirius and Severus had reached a truce the two still did not enjoy each others company. Severus didn't answer, just glared at James and moved back to stand next to Ron. James looked at Ron before walking forward, thinking about what memories should go in. Remus looked at James and then looked at Ron for a long moment.

"Are you sure Ron?" asked Remus.

"I am Remus. I know you have every reason to be hesitant with the way I was about potions before, but I promise I know what I'm doing. I just wanted Severus to double check for your comfort and my own." Remus studied him for another moment before nodding his head and walking forward to start adding memories, as James was still steadily adding his own.

"Finally! What took you so long?" asked Sirius in exasperation as the four walked back into the living room.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" asked Ron and Sirius glared at him.

"Come on Sirius, not all of them are gay." commented Charlie good naturally.

"But three are." added George.

"And that seems like plenty." supplied Fred.

"Alright, that's enough of that boys. It's time to hand out presents." interrupted Mrs. Weasley, seeing the look Sirius was giving Fred.

"We'll do it!" hollered Fred and George at the same time. Together the two twins handed out all the presents, being sure to make comments as they did so. Even they were surprised as they handed Ron a present wrapped in black and green.

"Ronnikens, it looks like someone likes you!" said Fred with a wink towards Sirius, before moving on. Sirius looked at the twins in confusion and then at Ron, as well as everyone else who had heard Fred's comment. Ron, however, was looking at Severus.

"You got me a present?" he asked in surprise. Sirius turned quickly and glared at Snape.

"You got him a present?" Sirius repeated, although Severus and Ron didn't pay him any attention.

"It's not a present. It's something that belongs to you and I thought now would be a good time to give it to you." answered Severus.

"Then why is it wrapped?" asked Ron.

"Because I was informed, quiet persistently." started Severus, glaring briefly at Harry who just shrugged his shoulders. "That I was not allowed to give something to you tonight without it being wrapped. Apparently it would have gone against the holiday spirit."

"That right!" hollered Fred and George together. Ron looked down at the box in his hands before taking the wrapping off and opening it up.

"A ledger?" asked Ron in confusion.

"I'm surprised you knew what one looked like." smirked Draco before suddenly darting away from Ginny, effectively missing a smack to the head. "Hah, you missed." he said, sitting up just in enough time to be smacked in the back of the head. "Hey!"

"A word of the wise Draco." whispered Mr. Weasley, who had been sitting next to the pair. "Just because they miss the first time, doesn't mean there wont be a second." glancing at Mrs. Weasley, Mr, Weasley lowered his voice even more. "or a third or fourth if she still hasn't got you."

"I'll remember that. At least I'm starting to learn what gets me smacked."

"Why did you give me a ledger?" asked Ron to Severus.

"Look at the parchment underneath it. That might explain it more." Ron lifted the ledger, took out the parchment and read it carefully.

"A patent?" at this Severus nodded. "On my muscle cream?" again Severus nodded. "How?" he asked simply.

"Did you really think that Poppy wouldn't have told me about it?"

"I guess I didn't."

"Well she did. I took it, studied it and recreated it before giving it back to her. Then I sent it to a potions master I knew from France to get his opinion of it. To have a new potion patented and legal for sale, you must have at least two potions masters approval. He gave his and with mine, I had it patented."

"And the ledger?" asked Charlie, now extremely curious. He had know his brother was different, but he had never expected that potions had anything to do with it.

"Once the cream was patented, I made batches of it and sold it to medical facilities." It was only then that Ron looked inside the ledger.

"Merlin! How much did you sell it for?" he asked in surprise.

"Lets just say that people had no qualms paying a good price for it and since it ended up being used quiet frequently, there was repeat orders. Of course, I have already taken out the cost of the patent, ingredients and of course a percentage to myself for the time I have spent making it."

"Still...wow."

"I expect from now on, you will take over the orders, as you were the original creator." Ron just nodded his head and looked at Harry.

"Well mate, it looks like I'll be able to pay you back sooner than I thought."

"Really?" asked Harry, walking over and Ron handed the ledger to him.

"Mate, you could pay me back now and still have some left over." Ron just nodded in shock. "That's great Ron. You knew you could sell it."

"Yeah, but I thought it would go to Quidditch stores and teams. Plus, I never thought it would go for so much."

"Well mate, I'm proud of ya." said Harry with a grin.

"Oy, Harry its your turn to open one." said Fred, holding out a present. From then on everyone seemed to get lost in wrapping paper as gifts were unwrapped. Fred and George had gotten similar gifts for Harry and Alexandria; a necklace, but what looked like a ornament hanging off of it was in fact a small photo album. Alexandria contained some pictures of Harry and his friends, as well as pictures of Remus and Sirius. Harry's had various pictures of when James and Severus were together in school as well as when he was a little baby with Alexandria.

"Wow. Thank you Fred."

"No problem. I figured you should have a photo album of your real family."

"Thank you again." said Harry, giving Fred a kiss. "I like being able to do that any time I want."

"Oh, so do I, very much so." replied Fred, kissing Harry again. When they finally parted, Harry looked at his album again. "I'll have to thank dad to for letting you use the pictures."

"Actually." whispered Fred. "You would be surprised how many of those came from Snape, mostly the ones of them at school."

"Really? I wonder why he still had them?"

"I have given up trying to figure him out." commented Fred with a shrug. Draco had given Ginny silver necklace with a ruby gem that was encased with smaller emerald gems. Sirius have given Ron what looked like a miniature chess board on a key chain, but when you enlarged it it was a fully functioning wizards chess board that he could take with him wherever he wanted. Of course, Hermione gave out books to the boys and Ginny got them some more clothes.

As the gifts started to dwindle, Sirius couldn't help the small frown that had formed. He couldn't help but feel down that all his presents were opened, but nothing had been from Ron. He tried to shack the feeling off, telling himself that Ron had no obligation to give him a present, but the feeling wouldn't go away.

"Is that all of them?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she started to clear the wrapping paper away.

"I think so..." started Charlie, but Ron interrupted him.

"Actually, I have one more." Ron reached in his pocket and pulled out a vial of potion. "Here you go Sirius."

"A potion." asked Sirius dumbly. "I gotta say Ron, I'm starting to question your gift giving abilities..."

"Oh shut it you prat, you don't even know what it is." commented Ron, elbowing him.

"Well what is it?" asked Harry.

"Its an Affectus Rejuvenation potion." said Ron and Hermione gasped.

"You made that?" Ron nodded his head. "That's a difficult potion Ron."

"I know. I had Severus look over it to make sure it was correct."

"What does it do?" asked Sirius, studying the vial.

"It gives you your happy memories back." explained Ron.

"Not just happy memories." interrupted Hermione. "Happy memories from other people are put into another potion and you stick your head in it like with a potion. The potion connects you to the you in the memories and you will be able to feel those original emotions again once you are done. It will be like the Dementors didn't have an effect on you at all." Sirius looked Ron in surprise.

"Really?"

"Sort of. It wont give all your happy memories back, just the ones that of the memories you see. I asked Remus and James to put some in and even Severus added one."

"Well all of my happy memories are with those two. What do I have to do?" asked Sirius.

"I have the altered pensive with the memories in it up stairs in Percy's old room. All you need to do is drink the potion and then put your face in the pensive so you can see the memories." Sirius studied Ron quietly for a long minute before swallowing the potion.

"I guess I'll be back in a little bit." he said before exiting the room. Ron looked at the others in the room and saw them staring at him.

"What?" he asked uncomfortably.

"Who are you?" asked Charlie in a teasing tone.

"Oh shut it."

"I'm serious. You make a potion that gets patented and by your expression has already made a lot of money and now you've made a very complex set of potions."

"I just found my niche is all." said Ron.

"I'll say." mumbled Charlie, sitting back and studying his brother with a smile. Ron turned to James and Remus.

"You might want to be there when he is finished. I'm sure it will be quiet an emotional experience and he may need you. Plus, you can get your memories back then." Ron then turned to Harry. "You should probably be there also."

"And you?" asked Harry.

"I'll wait until he comes down." said Ron, glancing at the door which Sirius had left nervously.

"Okay mate. See you in a bit." said Harry as he walking with his dad and Remus out the door.

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Please review.


	30. Sirius' Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter Characters.

I am sooo sorry it has taken me so long to update but I promise I am going to finish this story. I have everything planned out in my head and I am going to try my darndest to get them posted as soon as possible.

Thanks to all my readers and reviewers!

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Sirius walked into Percy's room and saw the cauldron sitting in the center of it. Slowly Sirius approached it and gazed down at the swirling liquid. He knew that the potion would work; knew that Ron knew what he was doing, but he was almost apprehensive about reliving all of those memories; afraid of feeling that happiness but then, for some reason, having them taken away again. Sirius couldn't stand losing them twice.

Finally taking a deep breath, he placed his face into the liquid. Immediately his surroundings started to swirl until he found himself standing on the Hogwarts Express, Hogwarts students milling around.

"Come on Sirius, I want to meet my friends. Mother said you had to stay with me." Sirius turned around at hearing his brother Regulus' voice and then smiled as he realized what memory this was. Sirius turned around and there was James watching the exchange between the two brothers. Turning back to his younger self and his brother, Sirius watched the scene unfold.

"But I don't want to sit with you and your stupid friends." Grumbled his younger self.

"Fine then, stay here by yourself." Retorted Regulus before walking off.

"Fine, I will!" hollered Sirius after his brother and then looked around uncertainly, unsure of what to do now. That was when he saw James, standing there staring at him. "What are you looking at?"

"Your brother." Answered James without hesitation. "Kind of a git isn't he?" he asked with a small smile.

"Yeah he is." Grumbled Sirius again, glancing at the way his brother went.

"Well anyways, I'm James Potter." Said James, holding his hand out to Sirius. "This is my first year. Is it yours too?" Sirius eyed James for a second before shaking his hand.

"Sirius Black and yeah I am. My mum expects me to follow my brother around but we don't really get a long."

"Well you can hang out with me then." Said James with a grin.

"Really?" asked Sirius in surprise.

"Yeah, it'll be fun." Said James as he started leading Sirius in the opposite direction of his brother. "I found a compartment that only has one other first year, some Lupin guy, with his nose stuck in a book. He's obviously going to be a Ravenclaw. I'm probably going to be in Gryffindor, my father says I'm perfect for the house. What house do you think you're going to be in?"

"Slytherin probably. All my family has been in Slytherin." Answered Sirius.

"You don't sound too happy about that."  
"That's because I'm not. I'm not fond of my family."

"Slytherin's are supposed to be sly and cunning right?" asked James.

"I guess so." Said Sirius with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Are you good at pulling pranks then?" asked James.

"I've been known to piss off my brother on a regular basis." Answered Sirius with a proud grin.

"Then I think we're going to get along just fine Sirius Black."

"Even if I'm in Slytherin?" asked Sirius worriedly.

"All that means my dear friend is that we'll have a inside man in Slytherin." Answering James with a sly grin before slinging his arm around Sirius' shoulders. "Now come on, I wanna see if we can get that Lupin kid out of his book in the most…creative way possible." Younger Sirius smiled and older Sirius also smiled as he felt the happiness fill him, just as Ron had said it would. Meeting James for the first time, getting his friendship, had been one of the happiest events in Sirius' life.

"Alright." Replied Sirius happily, walking with James down the hallway. The scene continued on, showing how the two got Remus out of his book, the friendship between the three first forming, before fading away. Next Sirius found himself in the Great Hall and watched as he got sorted, again feeling the happiness filling him as the hat said Gryffindor and he made his way to the Gryffindor table. It continued on like this for the next few scenes, all of them times spend with Remus and James at school, the first time James had Sirius come to his house for Christmas and all their summers together. Sirius relived accomplishing their animagus forms for the first time and even graduating from Hogwarts.

Soon Sirius came onto a scene that he guessed was the one that Snape had added. Looking around he saw James asleep in the bed and Snape standing by the headboard. There was a knock at the door and Sirius saw himself poke his head in.

"Can I come in?" asked Sirius and after a slight hesitation Snape nodded his head and Sirius walked in and looked at James, looking down at James. "How is he doing?"

"Fine, just needs rest." Answered Snape simply. Sirius nodded his head and then walked over to one of the cribs in the corner of the room. He reached into one and softly petted Alexandria's head before going to Harry's crib and picking him up into his arms.

"Hey there Harry, it's your Uncle Sirius I'll be your favorite uncle, showing you all my marauding tricks and spoil you rotten." Said Sirius with a soft smile. Older Sirius felt the now familiar happiness start to him as he glanced at Snape, who was shifting around uncomfortably, unsure of what to say.

"Look, Black." Started Snape clearing his throat, causing the younger Sirius to look up from baby Harry. "James and I discussed it and we would like for you to be Harry's godfather."

"Really?" asked Sirius hopefully which Snape nodded to.

"I'm sure James wanted to ask you but…"trailed off Sanpe, not knowing what to say. Older Sirius had always wondered why Snape had asked him when he did, but watching now he could see that it was Snape3's way of filling the awkward silence he felt.

"Absolutely. Nothing would make me happier." Answered Sirius before looking back down at baby Harry. "You hear that Harry, I'm your godfather. I'll always be there for, even death would have a hard time keeping me from you. Always remember that."

The scene faded away and the next couple usually involved the baby twins or the him, James and Remus together. As the last scene faded away, he stumbled away from the cauldron and felt two sets of hands grab his arms. Looking to his left he saw Remus and then looked to his right and saw James. Seeing his friends, Sirius felt his eyes well up with tears as a large grin spread across his face.

"Thank you. Thank you _so_ much." Whispered Sirius, first wrapping James into a tight hug and then Remus. Pulling away he looked around the room and saw Harry standing off to the side with a small smile on his face. He briskly walked over to him and wrapped him in an extremely tight hug.

"You okay Sirius?" asked Harry as he returned the embrace.

"Never better Harry." Answered Sirius into his shoulder before pulling away. "Out of all those memories you know which one brought me the most happiness?" Harry shook his head. "The moment I was asked to be your god father. It truly was the happiest moment of my life." Harry's grinned widened even before and Sirius wrapped him up in another hug before pulling away and looking around the room one more time. "Where's Ron?"

"He stayed downstairs, said he would see you when you were done." Answered Harry.

"Oh ok." Said Sirius and he and Harry waited while James and Remus collected their memories. Together the four walked down to the living room, the grin never leaving his face. Everyone looked up as they entered the living room.

"Did it work?" asked Hermione eagerly.

"It worked." Confirmed Sirius with a broad grin. "Where's Ron? I'd like to thank him."

"In the kitchen with Severus dear." Remarked Mrs. Weasley. Sirius nodded and walked into the kitchen. Severus was making tea while Ron leaned against the wall, looking out the window. Unsure of what to say to interrupt the comfortable silence, Sirius just cleared his throat and the two looked at him.

"Um, I'm done." He said to the two, feeling awkward. Severus glanced at Ron and then at Sirius.

"I'll go retrieve my memory then." Said Severus, heading towards the door that Sirius had just walked through.

"Snape." Said Sirius as he was about to pass by him. "That memory…meant a lot." Sirius paused briefly before continuing. "Thank you." Severus just nodded his head before walking out of the kitchen. Sirius walked up to Ron and leaned against the wall and faced him.

"What memory?" asked Ron. "Everyone's been trying to guess what Snape would've put in there but he wouldn't tell them."

"Why not?" asked Sirius.

"Well he couldn't remember for one. The memory in the potion was the actual memory so until he retrieved it he wouldn't be able to remember it. Even if he did though, I think he liked not telling them and watching them beg him."

"Sounds like Snape." Said Sirius. Ron just continued to stare at him with a raised eyebrow and Sirius smiled. "Now why would I tell you when it would be so much fun to watch you beg me?"

"Trying to be like Snape are we?" asked Ron with a grin. The comparison made the smile drop from Sirius' face. "Who says I'd play your game anyways?"

"But I thought you liked playing with me?" retorted Sirius.

"I thought you said I was no fun."

"And I thought you said you were." Whispered Sirius, locking eyes with Ron, an easy smirk crossing his face. Ron grinned as well, staring into Sirius' eyes, he slowly lifted his hand and lightly touched Sirius' temple.

"It's great to see your eyes shine with happiness again." Whispered Ron.

"Because of you Ron. I don't know how I'll ever repay you for what you've given me."

"Forgiving me without payback for giving you a drink I knew was spiked by the twins would be a good start." Answered Ron with a chuckle.

"Why you little…" started Sirius.

"Remember Siri, you don't know how you're going to repay me. I was just giving suggestions." Smirked Ron.

"I don't know why I put up with you." Said Sirius huffily.

"Aw, yes you do." Whispered Ron. It was at that moment that Sirius became acutely aware of Ron's fingers were still on his temple. The two seemed to stare at each other for a life time before Sirius started moving closer. Suddenly Fred, George and Harry walked through the door.

"If the greasy git won't tell us we'll ask Sirius" said Fred.

"Or Ron." Added George. "Sirius had to have told Ron." Harry just looked at the two who were still staring at each other until Ron looked at them.

"Sorry George. He's not as easy as we thought." Said Ron nonchalantly.

"Hey, I'm plenty easy." Retorted Sirius, what he said only clicking in his head after they had left his mouth. "That's not what I meant and you know it." Said Sirius to Ron, seeing him to start to open his mouth.

"Sure Sirius, sure it isn't." replied Ron.

"Come on, Sirius, tell us. What could he possibly put in there that would make you happy?" asked George.

"A prank you pulled on him?" asked Fred.

"Cause that…" started George.

"I could see…" said Fred.

"Making you very happy." Finished George.

"I highly doubt Severus would have kept a memory like that, and it goes without saying that he would give it back to Sirius to hold against him." Replied Harry. Ron and Sirius shared a smile.

"Ok, now I know why Snape gets so much pleasure out of keeping his mouth shut." Whispered Sirius to Ron. "If I was to tell you, what's in it for me?" asked Sirius to the twins.

"Depends on what you want." Replied George.

"We know better than to give a marauder an open ticket." Added Fred.

"Smart, very smart." Said Sirius, walking past them and out of the kitchen.

"Yo, Sirius, what do you want?" asked Fred.

"Yeah man, tell us. Don't make us beg." Said George as they followed Sirius out of the kitchen. When all three had left and the door was closed behind them, Harry looked at his best mate, who was still smiling in the direction that the three had left.

"You are aware of what it looked like you and Sirius were about to do when we walked in, right?" asked Harry.

"If it was anything close to what we were about to do then I am perfectly aware of what it looked like." Answered Ron.

"So?"

"So its probably a good thing you three walked in when you did." Answered Ron with a sigh.

"What? Why?" asked Harry thoroughly confused.

"If you get in to deep then you can't get out. No one wants to be buried alone Harry." Answered Ron before walking out of the kitchen .

"What the heck does that mean?" asked Harry to the empty kitchen .


	31. The end of Christmas Eve

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

I was hoping to get this story done in three more chapters, but this one was getting to long and I wanted to post something. I hope you enjoy it. Now there should only be about 3 or 4 more chapters.

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WEDK XMAS EVE

Everyone was enjoying their cookies and chatting when a small hiss came from Luscius and he rubbed his forearm.

"The Dark Lord is calling. We must leave." Luscius said and saw Draco turn to say goodbye to Ginny. "No Draco, you stay here. I will not put you in the Dark Lord's reach anymore."

"But won't he get suspicious?" Asked Draco.

"Don't worry about him, I know how to take care of it. Narcissa, to the floo."

"Not to state the obvious but won't he notice it if you floo from here." Asked Charlie.

"We are flooing to a hotel in France and then apparating to the Dark Lord's hide out. Everything has already been arranged."

"Are you sure Father?" Asked Draco, the crease in his brow the only thing relying his worry.

"Everything has been planned out in the event that this was to happen but we need to leave now for it to work. Take care Draco, we will be in touch. Sooner rather than later I presume." Commented Luscius with a glance at Harry. Draco studied his father for a moment before nodding his head. Without anything else said the Malfoy's went to the fireplace and flooed away.

"I'm sure they will be fine Draco." Said Ginny, putting a hand on his tense arm.

"Why don't we all get ready for bed?" Asked Molly, noticing the tension in the room. "Draco and Harry will be in Ron's room, Sirius and James you can stay with the twins and Remus you can stay in Charlies room. I assume your going to go home Severus?"

"Of course." Answered Snape in a clipt tone, concerned for it friend overriding any politeness he seemed to have acquired.

"Okay, chop chop then everyone." Said Molly motioning everyone out of the living room.

"Ill see you tomorrow. We'll all be heading back to the castle before lunch time." Harry said to Severus. "Have a good night and Happy Christmas Severus."

"Same to you to Harry." Said Severus placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it. Harry gave him a small smile then Severus flooed away and Harry walked up to Rons room.

By the time he got there Ron, the twins, Sirius, James, Draco and Ginny were already in pajama's and lounging around. Quickly Harry changed and then laid next the Fred, placing his head in his lap. He grinned as he felt Fred's fingers start going through his hair, like it was the most natural thing in the world. As the he laid there, he felt himself start to drift off to sleep due to the rythmic movement going through his hair and the steady conversation buzzing around him.

He was almost completely asleep when he felt something pushing at his mind. Harry creased his brow but didn't open his eyes; there could only be one person that would be trying to get into his mind right now. The question was why now, after staying away for so long. Harry made sure that his Occulmency shields were up before slowly letting the push in. Suddenly Harry was seeing through Voldemorts eyes as he looked around at the Death Eaters before them. Harry could feel the smirk on his face once Voldemort knew he was there.

"Luscius step forward." Commanded Voldemort and Harry saw a Death Eater separate from the rest and stand before Voldemort on one knee.

"My lord?"

"You were late when I called, why is that?"

"I am sorry my lord. Narcissa and I were not in a place where it would be appropriate to apparate."

"And where was that?" Demanded Voldemort.

"France my lord. The establishment has the best food in France but has let the filthy mudbloods dine there as well. We dine separate from them but apparating out could have caused attention that I didn't think was necessary."

"Why the sudden need to escape London Luscius?" asked Voldemort.

"Draco has…decided to turn his back on the Malfoy name and choose the Weasley girl instead." Remarked Luscius, disgust in his voice. "Narcissa and I no longer have an heir."

"How disappointing." Remarked Voldemort before casting the cruciatus curse. "You have lost me a follower." Luscius squirmed on the floor from pain but didn't let any sounds escape his mouth. Harry could feel Voldemort trying to push further into his mind. He made his mind feel disgust at Voldemort but no feelings towards Luscius before letting Voldemort in a little more. Once he felt those feelings being touched he felt Voldemort pull away again. "I expect you will make this up to me." He said before taking the curse off of Luscius.

"Yes my lord." Answered Luscius as he got off the floor and stood tall again.

"I expect you will make this loss up to me Luscius."

"Yes my lord." Said Luscius before backing back into the line of the others Death Eaters. Harry felt himself get shoved from Voldemorts mind, making his scar burn. Harry clenched it as he became aware of being in Fred's lap again. Looking up he saw his worried gaze and then looked around to see all eyes on him.

"Voldie?" asked Fred in concern.

"Yeah, he wanted to show me his conversation with Luscius Malfoy." Answered Harry, sitting up and rubbing his forehead.

"Is my father okay?" asked Draco.

"He's fine. Tom suspected something with his late arrival so he questioned him. Your father was tortured with the cruciatus curse, but he covered well. I think Tom just wanted to see if I felt sympathy for him, see if he might be a traitor, but I think he's convinced for now."

"What do you mean for now?" asked Ginny.

"Don't worry, this actually works out great into the plan I have."

"Well I'm glad my father's pain works well for you." Replied Draco snidely.

"Wow Harry, didn't know you were a masochist." Said Fred with a grin.

"Please, look at who his father is. I can totally see it." Remarked George.

"Hey, Severus wasn't…" started James and then stopped when eyes all turned on him. "That bad." He finished quietly.

"Really didn't need that picture in my head." Replied Harry with a groan, falling back into Fred's lap.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Charlie and Hermione were sitting by the fireplace later that night, enjoying the silence as everyone else had dispersed throughout the house after the Malfoy's had left for the evening. Hermione was reading her book as Charlie cleaned his knife. Hermione looked up at him and studied the dragon etched on the knife's handle.

"So do you miss them?" asked Hermione, breaking the silence. Charlie looked at her in confusion. "The dragons, do you miss them?"

"Yeah, part of me does. They have been a part of my life for so long and really are my passion. With the war and everything it's nice to be around family and friends." Answered Charlie.

"And others." Replied Hermione with a small grin. Charlie looked at her for a moment before letting out a little smile himself.

"And others." Answered Charlie.

"So why don't you ask her out or something? Do you think she'd say no?" Asked Hermione crossing her legs underneath her.

"No I don't think so. After all, I am irrestable." Said Charlie with a grin but Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Ultimately when this war is over, if I survive, I'll be going back to Romania. Like I said before, those dragons are my passion, my life. Her life is here. Why start something just because a war is going on if we can't be together when it is over?"

"Have you asked her if she's ever wanted to move?"

"No I haven't, but she's not going to leave her job and family just to be with me. Trust me Hermione I've thought it over. It's not like I'm in love with her, I just...you know how there's always that one thing that makes you realize..."

"Why they're so special to you to begin with." Finished Hermione in understanding.

"Exactly." Replied Charlie, but he could see the silent question in her eyes and sighed. "I love catching her when she falls." Hermione smiled at this. "What about you? What does he do?" Hermione debated about denying everything for a moment before sighing herself and smiling a little, laying her head on the back of the couch.

"He hums when he reads." This made Charlie quirk an eyebrow and Hermione laughed softly. "He really does. Usually it's only when he's really into a book, with the songs vary depending on the genre. I think I heard him humming the Weird Sisters when he was reading a book Ginny said he'd never finish because it was to girly for him."

"Now I'm going to watch him everytime he reads to see if that's true." Replied Charlie with a chuckle and Hermione shrugged her shoulders with a grin, thinking about the man they were talking about. Charlie stayed silent as he watched her think.

"There are so many reason's why we shouldn't be together, I'm not so young and naive not to know that. But I'm smart enough to know all those reason's don't matter one bit."

"So why...?" Started Charlie.

"So why don't I tell him I have feelings for him?" Asked Hermione and Charlie just nodded his head. "Because while I know those things don't matter, I know that they matter to him and I don't want to be with someone that I have to convince to be with me." Charlie gave her a small smile. "So I enjoy the time I spend with him and when I start to feel my feelings for him growing, I find a way to put to some distance between us for a while. I was so thankful when school started. Everyone thought it was because I wanted homework again." Said Hermione with a chuckle.

"I'm sorry Hermione." Said Charlie sincerely, understanding.

"It's okay. Remus is a great friend and if I can't be something more to him then I am happy at least being that to him. You really should think about taking a try with Tonks, Charlie. I'm not telling you to proclaim your undying love for her or marry her tonmorrow. At least put feelers out if this really is where she wants to spend her life. Trust me, no matter how good you are at forgetting those feelings, they are always there, they will always come back and odds are they'll mean more than they did before."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Mrs. Weasley had been cleaning up quietly when the conversation started in the living room. At the mention of her son liking a woman, she couldn't help but move closer to the door and listen in. She looked up at the stairs as she heard footsteps come down then but didn't move away from the door as Remus walked in, as the women her son was fond of had yet to be mentioned. She saw Remus raise an eyebrow at her before he heard the conversation himself and a small smile graced his face. Shaking his head he was about to move to the sink when he heard Charlie asked Hermione about what the man she liked did. At the question, Molly saw Remus pause, hesitating slightly before moving closer to the door to hear her answer. As Hermione talked, Remus leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. When she finally said his name, Molly saw him sigh and open his eyes, looking at her. The conversation came to an end and Molly watched him walk outside into the winter air. Glancing towards the living room briefly, Molly followed him outside, finding him squatting against the house, eyes closed.

"I take it from your reaction, Hermione's feelings aren't one sided, are they?" Remus stayed silent and didn't answer the question so Molly asked another. "Did you know that Arthur is 8 years older than me?"

"There's more than double that between me and Hermione." Replied Remus.

"That's the age difference between Ron and Sirius. Are you saying they shouldn't get together?"

"I think that's inevitable. Besides, even before the potion tonight, you could see that Ron made him happy. He deserves that."

"Who told you that you didn't deserve to be happy Remus?" Asked Molly.

"It's not just the age Molly. There's also the wolf to think about."

"Honestly, do you think there is anyone in London that knows more about werewolf's than Hermione's, other than werewolves themselves. If you think about it, that is one reason to be with her. There aren't many other women who would understand what you go through as much as her. If you ask me, I think you two would be extremely happy together, but she is right about one thing." At this Molly saw Remus look at her. "If you have to convince yourself every day that it's okay to be with her, then you shouldn't be together. She deserves better than that." Molly saw Remus look up to the sky at the crescent moon and then she walked back into the house.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Remus sat outside for a couple of minutes, thinking about what Molly had said before walking back into the house. He paused at the living room door and saw that Charlie had left and it was just Hermione sitting there reading. Remus fought an internal battle before walking into the living room.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked, picking up his book on the side table. Hermione lifted her head at him and smiled.

"Not at all." Remus sat down on the couch, got comfortable and opened his book. A short while later he glanced up and Hermione and saw a small smile on her lips. It was then that he realized he had been humming. Remus smiled a little also and went back to his book. The next time he looked up at her, he saw her fast asleep on the couch. Grabbing a blanket, he laid it over her and built up the fire a little more so she didn't get cold. Looking down on her sleeping, he couldn't fight the urge and leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead.

"Goodnight Hermione." He said quietly before heading to bed himself.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

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Please review!


	32. Wrapping it up

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS, THE PLOT IS MINE HOWEVER :)

I am glad that you guys are enjoying the story and that you like how the Ron character has progressed. I love getting the reviews from everyone so I encourage it!

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"Hey Hermione." Hermione smiled at the greeting before even looking up at the man standing next to her, knowing that voice by heart.

"Hello Remus. What brings you to my little hole of Hogwarts?" She asked with a smile.

"Well James and Sirius seem to be preoccupied with..." Remus paused, obviously not sure what to call Ron and Professor Snape.

"They're not technically significant others?" Offered Hermione.

"Exactly. Honestly, I'm about to throw each pair in a closet if I have to hang around them much longer."

"Isn't that what Harry's dad did to Professor Snape?"

"Yeah, he locked him in the closet with him until he would realize and admit that James really had feelings for him. It took two days," Hermione laughed lightly at this and Remus smiled. "So I decided I wanted to be useful and since I was the book worm of the Marauders I figured research would be the best way. Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not. To heads are better than one." She saw Remus smile and take a seat next to her, reaching for a book.

"So bonding?" He asked flipping it open and looking down at it, making some of his hair fall in is face. Hermione resisted the urge to run her fingers through it.

"Yeah, Harry wants to figure out a way to keep Voldemor'ts soul attached to him after he is killed. Someone had mentioned bonding but so far all the spells I have found would take much to long to perform."

"Not to mention he would feel you putting the spell on him." Murmered Remus, looking up and off to the distance.

"What is it?" Asked Hermione.

"Huh?" Asked Remus, looking at her in surprise.

"You had your thinking face on. What is it?"

"Oh." Said Remus, giving her a smile. "I was just thinking back to when Voldemort possessed Harry and tried to get Dumbledore to kill him. If Dumbledore had, Harry would have been dead because he couldn't get Voldemort to let go of his mind."

"But Dumbledore didn't because he knew it wouldn't kill Voldemort."

"Right."

"But if Harry possessed Voldemort..." Hermione sat back in thought. "But how could he kill him while trying to keep ahold of him?"

"Ah but Harry isn't the one that has to kill him anymore."

"I can't believe I forgot that! Its been Harry for so long..." Hermione's mind started going into a whirlwind, trying to figure out the next step.

"So books on possession then? Find out how Harry can hold on long enough?" Asked Remus, pulling Hermione from her jumbled thoughts.

"Exactly. The possession books should be in the fifth aisle, top shelf towards the back." Remus nodded and headed to get the books. The two stayed in the library well into the night, reading and talking, sometimes about the topics they were researching but other times it was just about random things. When Remus finally suggested that they retire, Hermione couldn't help but be reluctant to leave. Feeling this made Hermione realize that maybe she should already start putting distance between her and Remus again. Even though, as he told her goodnight, she knew she really didn't want to.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The next day Remus made his way to the library in a very good mood, despite the lack of sleep he had gotten. Walking in, a smile graced his face as he saw Hermione sitting down at the table, obviously just getting there herself.

"Good morning Hermione." He greeted, taking a seat next to her and pulling a book towards him. "I hope you slept well?"

"Good morning to you to Remus and I did, very well in fact." Answered Hermione with the smile that Remus loved. "How about you?"

"I slept great. So you ready to get to work?" He asked, opening the book he had in front of him. Hermione nodded and did the same. They sat like that for a couple of hours, moving only to change out books. When it was almost lunch time, Hermione and Remus were leaning towards each other, looking over a page in a book, discussing the implications.

"Basically when it comes down to it, Harry just has to have the willpower to hold on. He does that, then when Voldemort dies, his soul dies also."

"Harry's always had the willpower, that's for sure. Plus his connection to Voldemort and his occlumency capabilities should definitely work in his favor." Answered Hermione, biting her lower lip in though making Remus stare at her lips for a moment before finding her eyes again, which were currently still looking at the book. "Now the question is how to kill him."

"I think that's something Harry and Alexandria are going to have to figure out."

"You're right." Said Hermione look at him with a smile. "As always."

"Not when your around." Teased Remus and Hermione laughed lightly, looking at him and then looking around uneasily. Suddenly she started gathering up her books.

"Well its getting late. I've only got a couple more things to read and I can handle that myself." Remus looked at her in confusion until he remembered what she said Christmas eve about having to put space between them when she felt her feelings getting stronger.

"It's not that late, plus I had already asked Dobby to bring us some lunch in about 15 minutes." He told her, trying to convince her to stay.

"But..."

"Besides, Harry wants to meet this evening to go over his plans for Dumbledore and Voldemort. I can help you finish reading and we'll be able to have everything ready for Harry tonight."

"It would go quicker." Said Hermione to herself, chewing her bottom lip, obviously fighting with herself.

"Please?" Added on Remus, putting on his best puppy dog face and he saw her sigh and give him a smile.

"Alright, you win. But Dobby better have a good lunch."

"Knowing Dobby, he'll probably have our favorites." Commented Remus, not mentioning he had specificially requested Hermione's favorite to the house elf.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

A short while later, in the castle, Sirius and James followed Harry under the invisibility cloak, barely managing to keep themselves concealed. Harry had mentioned that he needed to speak to Severus about something concerning his plan in confronting Dumbledore and the two adults had refused to stay in the room.

"Are we almost there yet?" Grumbled Sirius.

"I don't know why you two didn't just stay in the room." Replied Harry.

"We didn't want to be left out of the planning." Answered Sirius.

"Plus, Sirius knows Ron is there." Grinned James.

"Oh shut it. You're only going because Snape is there." Retorted Sirius.

"How about both of you shut it or the whole point of having you under the invisibility cloak will be lost." Said Harry in exasperation. James and Sirius shut their mouths and continued to follow Harry, who let out a sigh of relief at the silence. A relief that was quite short lived.

"So are we there yet?" Questioned Sirius, but Harry's only answer was a groan. Harry was very thankful to see the potion lab's door come into view a couple minutes later but when he tried to open it, it was locked. Harry knocked twice on the door and waited but no one came to answer it.

"Well that's odd." Said Harry before using the password Severus taught him to unlock the door. Once he heard the lock give he opened the door and let Sirius and his dad enter before following himself. Looking around, he spotted Severus and Ron standing behind a cauldron, with Severus standing directly behind Ron his lips close to Ron's ear, just as Sirius did.

"What the bloody hell is going on here!" Hollered Sirius in regards to the position that Severus and Ron were in. At the holler, Ron and Severus looked at the three who had entered.

"What do you want Black?" Asked Severus snidely as he walked away from Ron and the cauldron.

"Oh I'm sorry, am I interrupting your little groping session? Is this what you do with your students behind locked doors? You need to keep your filthy hands off Ron!" Demanded Sirius. Harry could see that Severus' temper was steadily rising as Sirius ranted and Harry expected him to lash out at any minute but it wasn't Severus who answered Sirius.

"Excuse me? Just who do you think you are Sirius Black!" Demanded Ron, marching towards Sirius, extremely pissed off.

"I..." stuttered Sirius in surprise at Ron's anger.

"You're not either of my parents are you?" Sirius just shook his head, even though he was sure it was a rhetorical question. "I'm not your lover or boyfriend either am I?" Ron didn't stop long enough to let Sirius respond to this. "So what right do you have to demand anyone to keep their hands off of me!" Demanded Ron, shoving a finger into Sirius' chest. Harry stood in shock as Ron' tempered flared, which was a rare occurrence these days.

"Come on Ron, it looked like..." started Sirius, trying to defend himself.

"Oh grow up Sirius! I don't care what it looked like! I don't care if it is exactly what it looked like. I don't care if I was shagging bloody Voldemort every other night! As things currently stand you have no claim over me and unless that changes then you have absolutely no say in what I may or may not be doing with another man!" Hollered Ron, his face red as he glared at Sirius, who was so dumbfounded that he couldn't speak, before turning on his heel and storming out of the potions lab. Harry watched him leave before looking at Sirius who just stared at the door Ron left out of in surprise.

"Well . I guess I'm going to go talk to him." Said Harry, leaving the potions lab to find Ron with a shake of his head.

"Well done Black." Remarked Severus snidely as soon as Harry was out of the room.

"Wow, you are really in love with him," commented James in surprise. "I mean, I knew you had a thing for him, but your head over heels in love with him."

"Please James." Said Sirius, not denying it. He sat in an empty desk and put his face in his hands.

"I'm not kidding. You used to throw fits when you saw me and Severus together because you had a little crush on me, but that was nothing compared to what you just pulled."

"Don't you think I know that!" Said Sirius in exasperation, looking up at James. "I just don't know what to do about it!"

"Don't be daft Black. He said unless it changes you don't have a say in what he does."

"So?"

"So change it Sirius." Said James simply and he could see the light go off in Sirius' eyes.

"Of course. How can I be so stupid." Said Sirius with a smile.

"I can give a few guesses." Snapped Severus. Sirius opened his mouth about to retort and the closed it again.  
"Not important. I gotta find Ron." And with that he ran out of the room, leaving James and Snape alone for the first time since James' return.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Harry walked his way to the room of requirement and when he walked in he had to immediately duck an on coming bludger. Once he was able to stand again he watched Ron in the center of the room as he reared back his bat and slammed the bludger to the opposite side of the room.

"Hey mate." Greeted Harry.

"He had no right Harry!" Steamed Ron, not even looking Harry's way, just keeping his eye on the bludger.

"Did it ever cross your thick skull that he wants that right." Said Harry in exasperation. Ron didn't answer him but continued to beat the oncoming bludger. "Ron!"

"For how long, Harry?" Hollered Ron, pain evident in his voice, before slamming the bludger again.

"How long until what?"

"How long until he realizes he's saddled himself with a teenager and wants someone else?" Explained Ron, hitting the bludger again but not with nearly as much force as he had been.

"Ron, you don't know that that's going to happen."

"And if it does? I don't think I can go through that." Said Ron with a shake of his head. Harry just stared at him, unsure of what to say; it had been so long since he had seen Ron without his confidence, him so unsure of himself. Ron froze the bludger that was headed for him and put it away.

"Ron..."

"It's okay mate. Ill be fine. I think I'm going to go to the burrow for a little bit and see if mum needs the lawn denomed." Said Ron, obviously trying to push past the emotions that had surfaced.

"But it's the middle of winter." Pointed out Harry.

"Don't mean they ain't out there, they're just hiding." Ron clapped Harry on the shoulder. "I'll see you tonight." And with that he walked out the door. Harry just shook his head as he left the room of requirement and started back towards the potion lab. Half way there he ran into Sirius.

"Where is he?" Asked Sirius.

"The Burrow."

"Thanks Harry."

"Don't screw this up Sirius."

"That's the plan!" Hollered Sirius over his shoulder.

Sirius ran to the common room and flooed to the Weasleys house. Stumbling out of the fireplace, he looked around the empty living room and then headed for the kitchen. It to was empty but Sirius caught sight of Ron out the window, burrowing through the snow until he yanked up a garden gnome and slung it over the fence.

"Why hello Sirius. What brings you here?" Asked Molly, pulling Sirius out of his Ron watching.

"Oh I just...Ron...I kind of screwed up." Finished Sirius finally, running his fingers through his hair before looking back at Ron.

"Why does that not surprise me." Chuckled Molly, making Sirius glance her way briefly. "No offense, but I knew one of you was going to have to do something to bring whatever it is you two got between you two to a head."

"So you're okay with...well..." Sirius wasn't sure why he was having such a hard time forming sentences around Molly.

"You and Ron together?" Sirius looked at her and nodded. It hadn't really crossed his mind before, but getting her approval probably wouldn't be a bad thing. Molly gave him a smile before looking out the window and watching her youngest boy. "Years ago I realized something quite peculiar about Ron. I realized why he will always stay loyal to the Cannons no matter how many times they lose; why he still keeps the Teddy Bear that Fred and George turned into spiders under his bed despite it giving him nightmares because it was so close; why even though he was jealous and envious at times of Harry's success and fortune and in constant danger because of who Harry was, even though they had fights where they wouldn't talk for days or weeks, ultimately Ron would always be by Harry's side without hesitation. Do you know why Sirius?" Molly looked at Sirius and saw him shake his head. "Because when Ron chooses something, or someone, to love he sticks by it and won't let it go. Even if I hadn't seen the way you two are together, how perfect you work together, it wouldn't have mattered because Ron has already made his choice." Sirius looked at her in thought before nodding.

"Thanks Molly." He said as he started walking out to the backyard. Walking towards the center of the yard he was about to call out Rons name when a gnome came flying at him. His quick reflex to duck was the only reason he didn't get hit in the gut. Looking up in surprise, he saw Ron standing with his hands on his hips, wearing a grin.

"Whoops." He said.

"Whoops." Asked Sirius in disbeleif and Ron just nodded his head. "Why you little..." muttered Sirius, getting to his feet and starting after Ron. Seeing this, Ron made a run for it while Sirius gave chase. It wasn't long though before he realized Ron was in much better shape then he was and knew how to dodge and weave quite well. Then a realization came to Sirius that almost made him slap himself. He was a wizard for wizarding sake! Pulling out his wand, he said a spell that immediately conjured a wall right in front of Ron, making him slow down and hesitate enough for Sirius to lunge at him and knock him to the ground. After werestling for a bit, Sirius let out a triumphant grin when he got Ron pinned.

"Aha! Got you!"

"Yeah, yeah, you got me, now what are you going to do with me?" Asked Ron instinctively, although by the way his adam's apple bobbed, Sirius knew the question made him nervous.

"Why the one thing I've wanted to do for a while." Commented Sirius before leaning down towards Ron's face. He was about to make contact with his lips when Ron's spoke.

"You have to be sure Sirius." He said quietly. Sirius pulled back and looked at him questiongly. "Are you sure?"

"Sure about what Ron?"

"That I'm the one you want. If you kiss me, there's no going back. Your stuck with me."

"Is this your way of trying to talk me out of it? Cause, I gotta say, its having quite the opposite effect."

"I'm serious, Siri."

"So am I Ron. So am I." And before Ron could say anything else, Sirius leaned down and captured Ron's lips in his. As soon as Ron got over the shock of Sirius kissing him, he ran his fingers through the man's hair and deepened the kiss.

"Hmm, hmm." At the cough, the two pulled apart and stared at each other a moment before looking up at the person that had interrupted them.

"I suggest you two head back to Hogwarts, its going to be dinner time soon."

"Okay mum."

"Yes Molly." The two men smiled at each other before climbing up off the ground and making there way to the fireplace inside.

"Bye mum."

"Bye dear. Be good." She saod giving her youngest a kiss on the cheek and then watched the two disappear. "Finally! I thought those two would never work it out." Said Molly to herself as she made her way to the kitchen to make some dinner for her and Aurthur.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Severus watched Black leave the room before turning around and picking up the rest of the ingredients to the potion he had been working on and putting them in the supply closet. When he came back he expected his classroom to be empty but James Potter still stood there, watching him.

"What do you want Potter?" Asked Severus snidely.

"You." Said James simply, without hesitation making Severus pause for a moment.

."My aren't we blunt." Snapped Severus, as he finished clearing off the work bench, trying to ignore the other man in the room.

"Yes, because beating around the bush has worked so well for everyone else around here." James watched as Severus finished cleaning but didn't turn around. "You can't just ignore me."

"I disagree Potter."

"Come on Severus!" Said James on exasperation. "What we had...that just doesn't go away."

"No, only you do." Snapped Severus snidley, still refusing to look at him. James hung his head, ashamed.

"How could I have known..." started James but was cut off as Severus whirled around, furious.

"One day James! All you had to do was stick around for one day, if for no reason other than to bury your son. One day and you would have known he was alive and that I...what Dumbledore did to everyone. Instead you were a coward and ran away, leaving your child helpless!"

"Like you were any better! You knew he was alive and still didn't claim him!" Hollered James in anger and immediately regretted the words, knowing it was a low blow but Severus didn't pause in his answer.

"At least I was there! At least I did everything I could to make sure he survived this bloody war, even if it was making sure he hated me. You have no idea what its like to look at your son, knowing he truly hated you and that he had every right to feel that way and not being able to do a bloody thing to change it because it could kill him." Even though he had started out yelling, the last sentence was gritted out in an angry whisper.

"Severus, you have to believe me..."

"Believe you?" Hissed Severus stepping closer to James. "Believe you? Just like the teenage boy who

'believed you' when you told him that nothing could hurt them, not while they were together. Who promised, promised, that he wouldn't leave you unless by death and even then he would come back to haunt him. It's because of that belief that I've had to wake up every morning for the last 15 years only to feel the stab in my gut as I realized that you weren't there with me. To realize that everything I had wanted in my life was gone. You honestly expect me to believe you again?" James stared Severus in the eyes for a moment before speaking.

"I know I screwed up. I know that I should've stayed that night. You don't think I don't regret almost everything I did that day? But I can't change it, as much as I want to, I can't. All I can do is make it right." Severus snorted and turned and walked to the back of the classroom.

"And how do you expect to do that? You need to just keep moving on with your life Potter and leave me out of it."

"Move on?" repeated James with a mirthless laugh. "I couldn't move on from you when I thought you were dead. Do you honestly think I'm going to now that I know your alive?" James watched as Severus placed a book on the shelf but didn't say anything. "I have everything I want right in front of me. You should know me better than to think I'm not going to fight for it." James strode over to the entrance of the classroom and picked up the invisiblity cloak. "Mark my words Severus, I will make you love me again."

"Highly doubtful Potter." Replied Severus cooly looking at him. James stared at him for a moment before throwing the cloak around himself and leaving the classroom. Severus closed his eyes and laid his head against the bookcase. "You can't make me doing something I never stopped doing in the first place." He said to himself.

"Making you act on it is a whole nother story." Said a voice at the doorway. Severus snapped his head up and saw Harry standing there with a smart grin, making Severus want to groan. "Don't worry, I'm not going to push the topic on you..for now."

"What do you need Harry."

"Well with all the drama I forgot the reason I originally came down here."

"Which was?"

"How good are you at putting versarium in candy?"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

It was an hour before dinner and Minerva was making her way to Severus' lab after hearing some disturbing news. Tapping once, she tried the door handle and since it was unlocked she walked in and the sight that met her had her even more confused. Sitting in front of a small fire was Severus and Mr. Potter, obviously in the middle of some type of conversation. A civilized conversation at that. There was no hostility, no tense air but rather a familiarity, like this wasn't the first time this had occurred.

"Yes Minerva?" Asked Severus dryly, probably since she had done nothing but stare at the two since entering.

"Uh Severus, I just had the oddest report from one of the portraits. They claim that they saw Sirius Black running through halls a little while ago." Minerva stopped as Harry's mouth formed a little 'o' as he looked at Severus.

"He wasn't wearing the invisibility cloak when he went after Ron."

"And why would someone disguised as Sirius Black be after Mr. Weasley?" Asked Minerva sternly, hands on her hips. She knew something had been going on. It had been much too quiet around the castle.

"It wasn't someone disguised as him, unfortunately the mutt is back." Sneered Severus making Harry grin.

"And he was after Ron because he has a thing for my best mate and about screwed it up." Finished Harry, giving a wide grin to her.

"But...Sirius Black died...didn't he?" Asked Minerva in surprise.

"I'm afraid not." Grumbled Severus.

"I'm assuming there's more to this that I don't know about?" Asked Minerva with an arched brow.

"Yes there is Professor."

"And when do you plan on informing me about everything else?"

"As soon as Dumbledore gets back. I promise." Said Harry, not fond of leaving the professor in the dark. Minerva looked at Severus and then back to Mr. Potter.

"Two days Mr. Potter. The headmaster will be back in two days."

"Yes ma'am." Said Harry, thankful she didn't push the matter.

"Dinner will be served in one hour. I expect you both to be there." Severus and Mr. Potter nodded. She studied them one last time before leaving, trying to figure out why she was so pleased to see those two on civil terms.

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Review Please! Harry confronts Dumbledore and Voldemorts in the next chapter


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